Last Day of The Year! Last Day for Discounted Reg and Volunteer Applications!

Goodbye 2010. You were a year of many highlights and many firsts. On the ReedPOP side, we launched the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, PAX East, Star Wars Celebration, and Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention -- and New York Comic Con broke records at 96,000 attendees. On the personal side, I got engaged. 2010 was also a year that brought us Iron Man 2, Kick-Ass, Green Hornet, Scott Pilgrim, Tron Legacy, and a whole new Doctor Who.

How was 2010 for you?  From all of us at ReedPOP, thank you for spending bits of your 2010 with us, and we're working hard (well, not today) to make sure 2011 is bigger, better, and way geekier.

As you wrap up your year, just a reminder of two big C2E2 deadlines.

Currently tickets for C2E2 are $20 for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday ticket or $45 for a weekend pass. Ticket prices will increase on January 1. If you're smart, want to save some dough, and want to guarantee yourself a badge to the show, buy your ticket now at www.C2E2.com/Buy-Tickets.

And, if you want to experience C2E2 from the inside, the clock's ticking, too. The show's run by a small staff and elite team of volunteers, and if you'd like to join our volunteer division, you'll need to check this off your list by midnight, as come 2011, Volunteer registration will be closed. Sign up to volunteer here.

Now, I wave goodbye to 2010 with my favorite video from the year...

Do A Good Deed and Get A Very Good Reward

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? Maybe there was something secret, something geeky not under that tree? While I hope your holiday was festive and filling, if you'd perhaps like to get yourself an extra little gift -- or plan ahead and start shopping for next year -- I recommend you give www.headwayessex.org.uk a look.

The Headway Essex Centre in Colchester in the UK provides rehabilitative care to survivors of brain injury. People inside the centre are helped with issues including fostering their understanding of how their brain injury has affected them, generating confidence and self-esteem, improving personal health, and increasing independence and reducing social isolation. And...

In 2007, actor David Tennant played the role of a brain injury survivor in a 90 minute BBC drama titled Recovery. He spent time at Headway Essex while researching this role and has since returned many times to help raise funds for the organization, and as part of his outreach to spread awareness has designed clothing for Headway Essex and personally signed a number of greeting cards available on the organization's website.

Do you have an upcoming birthday, graduation, or celebration? If not, it's never too early to start shopping for Christmas 2011. If you're interested in helping the good folks at Headway Essex -- and also getting a card signed by David Tennant in the mail -- you can visit Headway Essex's online shop here...

http://www.headwayessex.org.uk/fundraising/headway-essex-webshop.php

Prices Increase! Volunteer Reg Ends! Tomorrow!

Tomorrow -- December 31 -- are two big C2E2 deadlines!  It's the last day to buy discounted tickets to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo and the last day to sign up to volunteer at the show.

Currently tickets for C2E2 are $20 for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday ticket or $45 for a weekend pass. Ticket prices will increase on December 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET. If you're smart, want to save some dough, and want to guarantee yourself a badge to the show, buy your ticket now at www.C2E2.com/Buy-Tickets.

And, if you want to experience C2E2 from the inside, the clock's ticking, too. Volunteer registration will be closed come January 1. Sign up to volunteer here.

Why's there a knitted sackboy picture attached to this? Because I felt like it.

Summer In The City! Summer Wars Starts Today!

Summer Wars -- a film by Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda -- has been getting rave reviews from audiences around the world. It's played in film festivals throughout the USA. It's been shown in NYC a dozen times, too. And it keeps coming back. Why? It's awesome. It's neon. It's heartwarming. It's got a karate-chopping jackrabbit. FUNimation picked up the film and will be releasing it on DVD later this year, but, if you haven't seen it yet, don't wait. And if you have seen it before, see it again. IFC Center is presenting Summer Wars today through January 4.

Officially, this is what the film's about...

Teenage math prodigy Kenji stumbles upon the virtual world of Oz -- a hallucinatory pixel parade of cool avatars, kung fu jackrabbits, toothy bears and a bursting rainbow of colors -- that secretly regulates everything from online shopping and traffic control to national defense and nuclear launch codes. But when a devious AI program starts hijacking Oz accounts, sowing chaos and threatening real-life destruction in its wake, Kenji and his friends must prepare for a sci-fi showdown.

Really, though, you need to see the thing in action to get it.  It's good.  It's very good.  And it's not so much about Oz or any of that.  Rather, it's about the dysfunctional family outside the game that has to come together.  It does, though, share a few similar beats with the Digimon movie (Digimon 02: Bokura No War Game to be precise).  Director Mamoru Hosoda was behind both Summer Wars and the Digimon flick, and methinks he lifted a few of his favorite plot points from his old Digimon yarn for this.  It's not a knock against the film, instead another point which gives it more geek cred.

Spend two hours of New Year's weekend dreaming of summer, and keep your eyes on a few other nerdy flicks playing in NYC in January.  Evangelion 2.0, Pi, The Thing, Indiana Jones, Scott Pilgrim, Ghostbusters, Postman Blues, Dangan Runner, and Rear Window are just a few of the flicks coming to New York City very soon.  Oh, Darren Aronofsky will be in town, too.  For details, hit up nerdyorkcity.com.

Me

Bah humbug.

Ticket Prices Increase and Volunteer Registration Ends! December 31!

It's the last week of the year. Have you made up a list of things you need to get done? Bills you need to pay? Books you need to read? Toys you need to buy? We've got two things to add to this list.

- Buy Your Tickets To C2E2
- Sign Up To Volunteer At C2E2

Currently tickets for C2E2 are $20 for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday ticket or $45 for a weekend pass. Ticket prices will increase on December 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET. If you're smart, want to save some dough, and want to guarantee yourself a badge to the show, buy your ticket now at www.C2E2.com/Buy-Tickets.

And, if you want to experience C2E2 from the inside, the clock's ticking, too. The show's run by a small staff and elite team of volunteers, and if you'd like to join our volunteer division, you'll need to check this off your list by December 31, as come 2011, Volunteer registration will be closed. Sign up to volunteer here.

GNYE

GNYE? Geeky New Year's Eve. Want one? There's a dozen of nerdy events hitting New York City on New Year's Eve and New Year's Weekend. Anyone can do a fancy dress party or clink glasses atop the Empire State Building, but it takes a special kind of person to wrap themselves in frills, pound rice into pudding, or spend a day at the geekiest museum at the world.  Whether you want to spend your New Year's out or in, there's plenty to keep you embarrassing your family.

• Summer Wars at IFC Center
• Coming To America at IFC Center
• Dances of Vice Let's Face The Music and Dance
• Doctor Who Marathon on BBC America
• Lollipop Girls in Hard Candy at the Sunshine Cinema
• Mochi Pounding at Mitsuwa Marketplace
• Magic Tournament at Jim Hanley's
• Primeval Premiere on BBC America
• Salty Talk: Sailor Slang Talk at the Intrepid Museum
• James Bond Marathon on BBC America
• Free Admission to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
• Last Day for Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty at the Met
• Last Day for Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool at Asia Society

Get details about all these events and more at nerdyorkcity.com.

Cosplay + C2E2 = $1000

Cosplay is a unique and beautiful part of fandom, and the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo celebrates the world of costuming through two events — Daily Costume Contests and our Saturday Night Masquerade.

Our daily contests are for fans looking to have fun. The are four Costume Contests spread across all three days for fans to get up on stage, show off, and maybe take home a prize or two. There's no pre-registration necessary for C2E2's Costume Contests. Instead, simply come by the Variant Stage a half hour before each contest to register. There are no large rules governing the Daily Costume Contests at C2E2. Costumes can span the worlds of comics, anime, movies, and games (if it's geeky, it's allowed), both homemade and store-bought items are fair game, and we just ask group entries not to exceed 10 people. The events are designed for casual fans, novice cosplayers, and folks looking to have a good time.

The Masquerade, meanwhile, is an event for cosplayers looking to put on a show! C2E2's Masquerade is a costume showcase that is part fashion show and part talent show with prizes on the line... The Masquerade's winning team takes home prizes from our contest's sponsors and $1,000 in prize money! The C2E2 Masquerade is your chance to have your costume and talent recognized in front of thousands of fans and — if your costumes are good enough and your performance daring enough — win an over-sized, novelty check!

Yeah, let me repeat that last point. Among the prizes up for grabs in the C2E2 Masquerade is $1,000.

I originally wanted to hand it to the winner in a big sack with a dollar sign on it, but Finance had some issues with it. The Masquerade, however, has all sorts of small print. No, not small print. It's all the same size text, but there are rules. For example: Participants must bring in reference material to familiarize judges with their characters. Participants must wear costumes. Naked isn't a costume. Skits must be PG-13 or less. Only costumes made by the wearer or a member of their group are eligible for Craftsmanship consideration. No store-bought costumes. Participants may not wear the same costume in the daily Costume Contests and Masquerade. Performances must be limited to 3 minutes in length. Groups must be limited to 6 people or less. All audio for performances must be provided as an MP3 at least one week prior to check-in. There will be no microphone for skits on stage. Costumes and skits can come from any area of popular culture. Anime, comics, manga, video games, toys, television shows, and movies are just some subjects that are fair game. Whatever you bring on stage, you must take off stage. Do not leave a mess. To participate in the C2E2 Masquerade, you must fill out the electronic Masquerade Registration Form and submit it to C2E2 by 11:59 PM Central Time on January 30, 2011.

I'm totally selling this, aren't I?  Just click on over to C2E2.com for the info...

Daily Costume Contest Details

Saturday Night Masquerade

Again, to register in the C2E2 Masquerade, sign up by January 30, 2011.

A Blast From The Past

After a Christmas with family, I was supposed to be on a bus back to NYC now. However, buses, trains, and planes are all cancelled due to the purported, oncoming snowpocalypse. I've yet to see a single flake.

Anywho, I'm spending an extra day (or several) in Upstate New York, and look what I found. This must be what Marty McFly or those dudes from Hot Tub Time Machine felt like. I haven't so much as seen an Orange Julius in years. Well, a month. I saw one in Singapore, but I thought they were extinct domestically. Now, fingers crossed, I can find a Smoothie King, too.

PS: The Mrs. really wants a VILF water bottle. Aint that cute?

Star Wars and MythBusters Marathons, Too!

So, you may have heard about the Doctor Who marathon going on now at BBC America, but Spike and Discovery are packed with geeky holiday goodness, too.  Spike TV is airing the Classic Star Wars Trilogy all day, that's Episodes IV, V, and VI throughout the day and night.  The Discovery Channel is, meanwhile, doing back-to-back-to-back-to-back MythBusters. It's a best-of assortment of their holiday and winter-themed episodes.

So, if you're looking to avoid the cold, or family, BBC America, Spike, and Discovery all have your back.

Image of Grant Imhara fussing with R2 stolen from an interview with Imahara on MTV Geek a while back.  (Grant used to work for ILM.)  General info about the marathons picked up from our split personality over at Nerd York City.

Ho.

Merry (Doctor Who) Christmas (Special)

Ah, Christmas Day.  Family.  Presents.  Jammies.  Cookies.  Time Travel.  If you're a geek worth your salt, you know that in addition to all the traditional staples of Christmas Day, today's the day the BBC and BBC America are presenting the annual Doctor Who Christmas Special.  A tradition since David Tennant took over as Doctor, this year's Christmas Special will be Matt Smith's first, and the first Christmas Special -- and first episode -- presented both in the UK and US on the same day.  It's, really, all I wanted for Christmas.

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol airs at 9 PM on BBC America.  It's at the end of a day-long marathon which includes another premiere, Doctor Who at The Proms, a Doctor Who concert, at 1 PM.

Caturday!

Need a last minute gift...

Thor and Zoe from Midtown Comics have some suggestions.

This Was STGCC...

This image, from MSN.com's photo gallery, is a nice summation of the 2010 Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention.  With the year coming to a close, there's a bit of time now to reflect on the show, and here are a few links of note I found (actually, the Mrs. found) today that'll paint a picture if you weren't there yourself.

MSN.com Photo Gallery

More than 21,000 fans flock to comics convention

S'pore Toys, Games and Comics Convention

Marvel Comics scouts S'pore talent at comics convention

Treat for comic buffs

Singapore Slung!

Heroes of Singapore, step up please

Pierre Bernard Designs DC Superheroes

Conan O'Brien and friend of show Pierre Bernard stopped by Warner Bros. animation recently and had a chat about Batman, Wonder Woman, strip clubs, and serial killers.  Yup.  Watch it here...

What I Want For Christmas...

No, Caturday hasn't come early.  In fact, this isn't a cat.  Or a panda.  What is it?  It's a dog painted up to look like a panda bear, which I hear is all the rage in China.  Thanks to Petrina for the tip, and check out CNN Go for the full story.

What is this?

Why its the official mascot of the annual ReedPOP holiday party, that's what! Each December the ReedPOP clan gathers at my house to toast each other, a great year and of course, all of you that made everything possible. And yes, every now and again, someone shows up in a giant lizard suit......

Here's hoping your holiday parties were free of lizards or any Nerf gun fueled assaults......

- Lance

Happy Holidays from ReedPOP

Yo, ho, ho.....

I'm off to Minnesota early tomorrow to spend some time with the family (and partake in my annual churching, which really means just singing Christmas songs super loud with my brother in a building that happens to be a church). Where are all of you heading? Wherever it is here's hoping it's safe, fun, filled with good food, family and friends....And maybe two Midwestern idiots singing Christmas songs too loud......

-Lance

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas... As Sung By The Cast Of Doctor Who

The BBC uploaded this little gem, and DoctorWhoNews.com spotted it.  It's, well, it's three folks at a piano.  Singing.  Sorta.  Kinda.  While I won't comment further on the actual carol, do note that Matt Smith is wearing suspenders, a jacket, and a gold watch.  It's been previously stated the the Doctor's costume was based heavily on Smith's personal style, and, from this clip, it looks like Matt's street clothes and his Doctor costume are nearly identical.

The Doctor Who Christmas Special airs Christmas Day in both the US and UK.

Caturday!

Thanks, Mzfeebs!

It's Friday! Tron, Gorillas, and Goa'uld Death Gliders!

Drinks? Yeah, let's do drinks! Where should we go? Planet Hollywood! Yeah, that'd be totally ironic! Let's do that! Wait, really? Yeah, really!

Ahoy, Medium At Large readers, this is a post coming to you live from the Times Square Planet Hollywood, where I, a phalanx of NYCC volunteers, and a few folks from Midtown Comics are doing drinks. I've got a Gorillas in the Mist, and around the table we've got some Hellboys, Dark Knights, Legally Blondes, Terminators, and one Starberry Margarita. All the drinks, pretty much, taste like sugar, but we've been assured there's alcohol in 'em, too.  See, there was a bit of a volunteer get-together in Bryant Park earlier today, which has evolved into a bit of drinking with the crew.  Did you know Planet Hollywood has Patton's uniform from Patton right beside a costume Robert Pattinson wore in Twilight? They do! Plus, they've got a life-size cast of Wesley Snipes from Demolition Man, a Goa'uld Death Glider prop, and Gizmo's head from Grelmins.

Yes, just the head.

Anyway, Tron's come out today, and we're curious if you've got any thoughts.  We'll be sauntering over to take it in a bit later tonight, but if you've got any feelings, reactions, or spoilers you want to share, let us know. We'll be checking the comments until our batteries die. Which is pretty soon. And in the all-too-likely event no one actually comments, that's cool, too, as I'm halfway through my Gorillas in the Mist, and I'm starting to find the alcohol.

ReedPOP Holiday Nerf Gun Apocalypse

Last night, a few members of ReedPOP gathered together to celebrate the holidays with ample beer, fancy hors d'oeuvres, and a Yankee Swap.  It was all fun and games until the presents came out, and while there were a number of sparkling, sensible gifts, including Star Wars hot cocoa mixes, The A-Team on DVD, LEGO kits, Buckyballs, Star Wars cookie cutters, and the best tea in Singapore, the were also a number of decidedly-malicious gifts under the tree.  Nerf Mavericks, Marshmallow guns, Iron Man Dart Blasters, Pre-Modded Nite Finders, and a sick little puppy called the Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 (pictured to the right).

It's all fun and games until you get caught in the crossfire between marshmallows and Nerf darts and, because you just happen to be wearing a dinosaur suit at the time, can't scramble away quick enough to escape foam in your eye.

Catsitting 101

My girlfriend's going off on an overnight Lolita Slumber Party this weekend with a gaggle of other NYC girls who love laces and frills.  Me?  I'm staying at home, attempting to finish the final draft of the best unpublished novel in the world.  And, I've learned today, I'll be watching a cat, too.  One of the girls heading out to the party with my girlfriend needs someone to watch her cat.  I've been volunteered.  The cat's name is Walter.  Or Waffles.  I'm not entirely clear.

What is clear is that I love cats but haven't exactly taken care of one since college.  Anyone got any tips for me?  What do cats like?  What should I avoid?  If I feed a cat chocolate milk, will I kill it?

Any suggestions?

Singapore At Large: A Moment Of Zen, Part 2

The fourth floor of the Pan Pacific Hotel has a Japanese garden.  A gorgeous Japanese garden.  Can't make it all the way to Singapore?  Click here for a fancy gallery of faux-artsy photos.  Plus, one of fish.  Fish are awesome.  I hope Reed's next show takes place under the sea.  They've got underwater convention centers, don't they?

Read more »

Singapore At Large: EATAKU

CB's updating his blog -- EATAKU -- now with photos and videos from his time at the Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention.  The above video is of a dude making roti prata, and you'll find a treasure trove more now at eataku.tumblr.com!

Singapore At Large: Big Day Out!

New York?  Fantastic airport, hotel, and convention center.  Chicago?  Fantastic airport, hotel, and convention center.  Boston?  Fantastic airport, hotel, and convention center.  Singapore?  Fantastic airport, hotel, convention center, and a whole lot more.  Typically, we don't get to see much of the cities we go to.  With Singapore, though, this wasn't the case, with YourSingapore.com sending Matt, Gail, Salva, CB, Esad, Alex, Ivan, and Camo on a day-long trek through some of Singapore's cultural hotspots.  They visited the Singapore Flyer, Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles's landing site, Chinatown, Kampong Glam, and the Botanic Gardens.  And Singapore At Large tagged along.  Cue the photos!

Read more »

Singapore At Large: The Turkey Has Landed

Snow. 38 degrees. Sharp winds. That's what we found as we touched down in Newark. Every time we ventured out in Singapore, we were met with a blast of sticky, humid air, but after a week, we got used to the heat. Coming home, I'm none to sure we were ready for this arctic blast. Every muscle that loosened while in Singapore immediately tensed.

But, it's good to be home. And while I want to write more, I need to pass out and shave.

PS: Mike's wearing a hat.

Singapore At Large: This Is Just To Spend Our Time

Mike and I are somewhere over Russia right now.  I'm probably on my fifth tea.  Mike's probably midway through The Legend of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga Hoole for the sixth time.  Here's a picture from an artist named Maharani in STGCC's Artist Alley.  She scrawled this on the wall behind her table.  We spent twenty minutes talking about Doctor Who.  She was cool.

Singapore At Large: Terima Kasih

The Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention 2010's a wrap, as is our trip to Singapore. Mike and I spent a week here, and we can both say the 19 hour flight and 90 degree weather is a small price to pay. The people, the land, the food, and -- again -- the people of Singapore are amazing. To the Reed team in Singapore, thank you for making us a part of your team. To the guests of STGCC, thank you for your faith and belief in us. To the attendees of STGCC, thank you coming to party. And to everyone Singapore -- Paul, Huileng, Melinda, Rachel, Ben, Cherie, Hazel, Scott, Peggy, Beatrice, Keith, Kee, Here Be Geeks, G&B Comics, Singapore Airlines, The Pan Pacific Hotel, and The Singapore Tourism Board just to name a few -- thank you for your hospitality and passion. If any of you guys are ever in New York, dinner's on us. And, we'll be coming back to Singapore, but not soon enough.

There are more picture posts coming, but probably not until we're back in the US. Until then, I leave you with the words of Esad Ribic...

"Getting attacked by monkeys. That's the point of seeing monkeys."

Singapore At Large: The Disgruntled Chef

It's a wrap. It's done. It's finished. STGCC 2010's come to a close. We're now at The Disgruntled Chef with the Marvel guys. Look the place up. While the Top Chef connection is what's got most folks here excited, that's not what does it for me. Me? It's the white chocolate creme brulee and the Asahi Black. My favorite beer in the world.

Singapore At Large: Science Bunnies

I just picked up Sir Fong's Adventures in Science. A three volume graphic novel from Otto Fong, it's an award winner here in Singapore, and based on the kids I saw jumping for Otto at STGCC, it's popular. Otto, a science teacher, created the book for his students - who were born in the year of the rabbit.

Pretty clever.

Singapore At Large: A Harvey Tolibao Custom Mac

Harvey whipped up this for a volunteer just now at STGCC. The show's winding down, and there'll be picture posts in a bit. Until then, a note for the team back in Norwalk: Mike's bringing you back surprises. Nothing as awesome as this, though. Nothing as bad as his used chilli crab bib, either.

Singapore At Large: The Top Of The World

Where's Peter? In the Singapore Flyer, the world's largest Ferris Wheel. It's 150 meters high, and that's the Suntec Convention Center behind the Pan Pacific Hotel. Gail, Salva, Alex, Matt, Ivan, Camo, Esad, and CB are taking a grand tour of Singapore. And I'm here to fend off alligators or lions. Or get eaten while the guests get away.

Fret not, Esad will eventually crush the thing's skull with his bare hands. And then I'll get a new cyborg body. Fingers crossed it'll have a mini-disc player in its chest.

Singapore At Large: Make Mine Marvel

STGCC heads into its third and final day today.  For the past two days, I along with Ben and Cherie -- huge huzzah and kudos to you both -- have staffed the Marvel booth at the Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention.  It's been two days filled with creator signings, cosplay, kids, and exploding pens.  But don't take my word for it, as below are 35 images giving you an insider's look into Marvel HQ.  Click here for the full galley, and be sure to drop by the booth today for a Marvel poster as we've got a limited supply.

Read more »

Caturday

From Dooce.com.  Via Kristin.

Singapore At Large: Peter Hungry

Day Two is done. It was a good day, although now's the time the feet start to burn. Or stab. Right now, it's kinda like needles. Burning needles. It's fine until you stop walking. Then they explode. In stabby burny pain.

Mike's up in his room, doing room service for dinner. Me, I'm at one of the twenty malls that touch our hotel looking for grub. Here's a crazy Christmas village in the center of the Marina Square Mall.

Hey, Cherie Hee's following me on Twitter. She's working the Marvel booth wirth me, and she's awesome. She's at @cheriehee.

Hell, what do I eat here? The past three days, I've seen hundreds of places open past midnight, but when I need food, it's a ghost town? Carl's Jr. is open. There are a lot of em in Singapore. But they got nothing I can eat. Unless I get five orders of fries. Nah. Hmmm. There's a Subway and a Pizza Hut. And I don't got a punchline to that joke.

Singapore At Large: Giant Limbless Rabbit Thing

No comment. None at all.

Singapore At Large: Made Of Class

A new Mike-o-gram. David Lloyd's signing now. There are a lot of people. His solution? A bottle of wine. He's signing and sketching for all.

Singapore At Large: Peanut Butter Crackers

This just in from Mike. Lines for Fraction, Leinil, and Gail. Mike's up above the signings, presumably snacking on some peanut butter crackers.

Mike, too, would like to give a big thank you to Kas, who surprised him with an unsolicited iced cherry mocha.

Singapore At Large: Surprise

Sal Larroca's doing a surprise signing now at the Marvel booth.

Singapore At Large: A Photo From Mike

Mike was at Marvel's big panel - not stalking AKB48 - and just snapped this coming out into the hall. Relatedly, we've both been smitten by Esad. He's an awesome, awesome dude.

Singapore At Large: CB Signing Time Change

A heads up to all three STGCC attendees who are reading along, CB's Marvel booth signing today's been moved from 1800 to 1900. I presume it has something to do with AKB48. Actually, it doesn't, but speaking of AKB48, Paul was rocking a nice pink AKB shirt earlier today and Mike's off now at their concert. He worked with them when they came to New York and has been a closet fan ever since. Actually, though, I don't see an AKB event on the schedule for right now. This troubles me.

I really hope he isn't stalking them.

Singapore At Large: Another Post About Sharpies

Dear marker paint ink pen things,

I don't get you. I don't. You can't be used straight out of the box. You're complex. You run out. You explode. I just don't see why you need to be this difficult.

There's a marker back home called Sharpie. She's awesome. She's simple. She's dependable. And since I pulled out the Sharpie I brought with me to Singapore, she's been the marker of choice for signings at the booth.

Maybe it's not you. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm too stupid, too oblivious to your charms. But maybe I'm not leaving the States again without 50 black and silver Sharpies in my bag. And maybe the TSA will ask a few questions.

Singapore At Large: You Are Here

What am I doing out at STGCC? It's not all Tiger beers with Salvador Larroca. Nope, it's also sorting, stacking, and resorting boxes, getting a laser in the eye as the equipment is set up for AKB48, and - right now - heading up the rear of the line for Harvey Tolibao at the Marvel booth. Packed lines all day for Sal Larroca, Matt Fraction, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Harvey. Signings for Tan Eng Huat, Alex Maleev, Esad Ribic, CB Cebulski, and Leinil Yu later today.

And this is just at the Marvel booth. Mike's captaining the Walk of Fame with signings from the full spectrum of the show's guests (non-Marvel comics creators to toy designers), and he's got the unenviable job of managing the queue for Simone Legno.

Any signatures I want? It's tough, as working the show and fangirling out don't really mix well. (I got all wibbly, though, for John Barrowman in San Diego, and I'm not going to talk about when I ate breakfast in the same room as David Tennant.) This said, I don't want to leave Singapore without meeting Mori Chack.

So, who you want to see at STGCC 2011?

Singapore At Large: A Moment Of Zen

The Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore has a Japanese garden and restaurant on its fourth floor. I'm mucking about the hotel now on bits of STGCC business and stopped into the garden. Utterly gorgeous. Instantly ethereal. I've had a love-hate relationship with Japan recently, ever more frequently scratching my head over the exponentially increasing number of moe-fairy-harem shows, but after 30 seconds in the Pan Pacific Keyaki Garden, all is forgiven. I don't even notice it's 90 degrees and 99 percent humidity.

Bring on Pre-Teen Private Girls School Pixie Bakery Detectives!

Singapore At Large: The Colors of STGCC

What's STGCC look like?  Lots of pretty stuff.  Lots of colorful things.  And lots of people looking at em all.  We're on the show floor early, though, with a few photos of some of the more colorful bits of awesome at STGCC.  You may not be able to get this close to once the doors open at 11 AM today.  Click here for the full gallery.

Read more »

Singapore At Large: Peter Sleepy

These are Rachel's feet. They have nothing to do with the post, but I need a picture, and her feet are right here. It's not creepy.

I just wanted to write a letter to the weather.

Weather, what's up? Why do you have a beef with ReedPOP? Why do you have to have tantrums during our events? At C2E2, you had a volcano explode and black out most of European airspace, preventing David Lloyd from coming. Now, at STGCC, David Lloyd made it, but a blizzard shut down most of Europe's airports, causing Sal Larroca's flight to be cancelled. It's been resolved, and he'll be at the show tomorrow, but a volcano and then a blizzard? What did we do to offend you? Or do we owe you still from the awesome weather at NYCC 09? 'Cause, if so, let's not forget the tsunami during NYAF 08. Can we call a truce? I really don't want it to rain frogs or locusts during C2E2 2011.

Yeah, this post is pretty pointless. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I want to go back to the hotel bar and get an Asahi and a burger and then Video Chat with the girlfriend. I've got a lot of pictures to post, too.

Peter sleepy.

Singapore At Large: Last Signing Today

Camo signing at the Marvel booth. Marvel booth signings kick off again tomorrow with Matt Fraction and Sal Larroca.

Singapore At Large: AKB48 Invades The Stage

In the middle of all that's AKB48. They're kinda popular. Just a wee bit. You can't see it in the photo, but they're wearing little blue and orange fuzzy parkas. Back when they were at the New York Anime Festival, they were in bedazzled school girl uniforms. I own neither.

Singapore at Large: Photos From Day 1

Here in no order are photos from Day one of STGCC, and just to confuse, some photos from Thursday as well.

Mmmmm, tasty spicy noodles and chicken for lunch today....

Hot and hazy Singapore. It's been 90 plus degrees every day. And yes, humid.

Little Mikey Armstrong on Thursday as they built the main stage.

Friday morning, about 2000 people lined up waiting to get in. The first 500 got a sweet toy from Diamond Select Toys.










File this under creep marketing. Her sign says, "Help me! Fill out a survey to free me!"




A full IM suit made of foam rubber and wired for lights. So cool. Not so cool? Lance playing Iron Man,









Gail Simone talking to Singapore TV












Cosplay on the main stage!

Lance loves Homer.

Matt Fraction is Huge in Asia

Massive line for Matt's signing in the Marvel book at STGCC.

-L

Singapore At Large: CB The Rockstar

CB popped over to the Marvel booth and was engulfed immediately. He's there someplace in the middle. People love them some Cebulski. I'm a bit terrified as the show's still minutes from officially opening up. God help us then.

Singapore At Large: Poster Signing

Team Marvel signing five posters for fans. These posters will be given out during Marvel's main panel at STGCC.

Singapore At Large: Marvel Takes The Stage

Team Marvel takes the stage at STGCC's Media Briefing.