Ken's Alternate Universe!

Ten Burning Questions

On Fire!

Welcome, fine readers, to the first ever Ten Burning Questions post! This post will be the first of what I hope will be many to cover ten hardcore questions that range from the serious to the silly. I’ll be asking questions to friends, cosplayers, authors, convention goers, convention runners, volunteers, etc. Hopefully I will also get a celeb interview here and there as well!

So, without further ado, here are Ten Burning Questions!!!!

Our first guest is JJ Shipman of RedTop Cosplay. Let’s pick his brain with Ten Burning Questions!!!!

1. What comic titles and/or television shows are you currently following?

Preacher and Gotham

2. Which character is your favorite to cosplay and why?

Joker. It’s my favorite villain, specifically Suicide Squad Joker.

3. Which conventions are your favorites? Why?

New Orleans Wizard World. Big and lots of guests!

4. Who has better hair, Thor or Chewbacca? Explain your answer.

Thor. He uses Thoreal because Hemsworth it!

5. Where do you hope to see yourself in five years as a cosplayer?

Where I am now. I’m 100% satisfied.

6. What is your earliest nerdy or geeky memory?

My first episode of Doctor Who. I was sold.

7. Favorite band or solo artist?

Need To Breathe, great band!

8. If you were stranded on an island, would you rather be stranded with Natalie Portman or Felicia Day?

Natalie Portman

9. When cosplaying, do you take on all aspects of the character, or just the look?

All aspects.

10. Favorite movie monster?

Alien Queen

Super Mega Bonus Question 11: Do you have any websites, social media pages, or contact info that you’d like to share with my readers?

RedTop Cosplay on Facebook. Click the link to be taken to JJ’s page!

I want to thank JJ Shipman for being the first guest on Ten Burning Questions. Each time I post about this particular topic, the questions will change! I hope you, good reader, enjoyed this as well. I’ll still be posting my standard posts like I always have, but I’ll try to have the Ten Burning Questions segment biweekly.
Thanks for reading!

A Nerd Turns Forty

On Top Of The Hill And About To Go Over

I recently turned forty years old. It’s something that I highly suggest all people do at least once in their lives. For some it’s just another trip around the sun. For others, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the life that they have lived and all of the decisions, good and bad, that they’ve made during their time as a living soul. I fall into the latter group, and I’d like to list a few observations that I’ve made over the last few days.

1. Geeks and nerds have it a lot easier these days.

Yep, I know that’s a standard old man saying, but it still holds true. Fifteen or more years ago, anybody over the age of twelve that was still reading comics or playing with/collecting toys had to deal with bullies on a constant basis. Girls didn’t talk to nerdy guys unless they wanted the answer to number seven on the test. A person that rocked DOS back in the day might as well have a big target on their back.

Today, almost everyone under the age of thirty knows their way around a computer, smartphone, or other devices with no problems. Gamers have their own professional leagues. You aren’t laughed at if you wear a Superman shirt and happen to be over the age of fifteen. Tech has advanced so far that even the cool kids use it. The stigma of being a computer nerd, bookworm, or toy collector has gone the way of the dinosaur. People love talking about their collection of Funko POP! figures and can do so with very little chance of being picked on or laughed at because they sold their vintage CD collection to buy them.

In short, geeks and nerds are in and I don’t see them exiting stage left any time soon.

2. It has never been easier to get your geek on.

I attended my first pop culture/comic convention in 2009. Prior to that, I was only vaguely aware of comic conventions that took place on a yearly basis. Sure, San Diego Comic Con has dominated the scene for a long time now, and there are other large conventions like DragonCon that have been around for years, but on the small convention scene, people outside of a certain region probably had no clue that some conventions even existed.

For example, CoastCon will be celebrating forty years in 2017. It is the longest running and largest fan-run convention in the state of Mississippi. I didn’t even realize that Mississippi’s nerd population was large enough to support any type of convention, let alone one that has been around as long as myself! CoastCon has become one of my favorite conventions, and I always try to make it to beautiful Biloxi to check it out. I’ve made excellent friends at the convention, and get excited every time I see good ol’ Herbie Crab, the convention mascot, hailing the next edition of the event.

There have been other conventions, both large and small, popping up within the last decade, that are having varying degrees of success. Wizard World is a relative baby compared to other big events, having only been a part of the convention scene since 1996. Starting out as a magazine in 1991, Wizard branched out into conventions starting in Chicago and started to rapidly expand once the 2000’s came along, putting on new shows and gobbling up established events as it spread across North America. In the last couple of years, though, Wizard seems to be suffering a bit of a backlash from fans that have grown tired of Wizard’s comic conventions that have essentially become expensive trade shows. Some events have been cancelled, and Wizard has made other changes as well.

Smaller conventions such as CyPhaCon, MechaCon, and ContraFlow, have established and growing fan bases. MechaCon is the oldest of these events, having only been around since 2005. Other conventions have popped up, fizzled out, or still haven’t quite found their niche in pop culture. New events pop up each year, such as Southern GeekFest, which held its first event this year and is ready to come back next year even bigger and better.

All of these conventions, coupled with social media, give geeks an instantaneous fix for whatever they fancy.

I blame the web for the fast rise of the convention scene, but I do expect the con bubble to burst in the very near future.

3. We have entered the age of the instant fan.

Just a few years ago, Deadpool was only a staple of comic reader diets and a few kids that caught his cameos on Marvel cartoons. You’d see at least one or two Deadpool cosplayers at conventions, but he didn’t draw the same attention as your standard heroes. Many people that saw his image mistook him for some mouthier, dirtier version of Spider-man minus the wall crawling and web-slinging. Within the last two years, however, Deadpool has taken over. Walk into any Hot Topic store and you’ll find DP merchandise scattered amongst tried and true heroes like Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Spidey. He just had a highly successful film released earlier this year coupled with a highly successful DVD/Blu-ray release just a couple of months ago. Why? The instant fan. That’s why.

Again, I blame the web for this phenomenon. The same thing happened to Iron Man a few years earlier (albeit with a much better film). Social media, brilliant advertising (especially in the case of Deadpool), and the convention scene gave lesser characters like Deadpool and Iron Man a stage to shine on. It became cool to like these characters.

People that never picked up a Deadpool comic suddenly became his biggest fan. I witnessed it personally. They set Wikipedia on fire digesting as much information as they could about Wade Wilson. They bought his t-shirts, toys, and possibly even a comic or two featuring the Merc with a mouth. As a result, Deadpool’s film was a massive success and now DP has his face planted everywhere.

That’s a good thing, right? Yes and no. Why? Because the sad truth is that today’s instant Deadpool fan will most likely be tomorrow’s instant Black Panther fan (Oops! Too late! BP has become extremely popular in recent months thanks to Captain America: Civil War). These folks will move from one latest cool thing to the next. On the surface, it is a good thing, because these characters get some much needed exposure. Below the surface, though, these same characters will fade back into the background in a short time.

These types of fans have been around forever, it’s just a whole lot easier for them to instantly change from one bandwagon to the next.

4. Older fans enjoy new characters, but keep going back to the classics they grew up with.

I really enjoyed The Force Awakens, but no matter how many times I watch it, it still doesn’t grab me like the original films did. I was fortunate to grow up on A New Hope, ESB, and ROTJ, and I will treasure those films until I die. The newest Star Trek films were enjoyable enough, but neither of them have managed to tug at my heartstrings like The Undiscovered Country. I find myself revisiting all of the old Trek shows and prefer the fan-made Star Trek Continues to the current films.

Batman The Animated Series is heads and shoulders above such recent Bat-toons like Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Christopher Reeve will always be Superman and as much as I loved Ben Affleck’s portrayl of Batman, he’s no Adam West or Michael Keaton.

I’ve enjoyed many of the newer Disney films and television shows as well, but I’ll always prefer to watch classics like Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast as opposed to newer fare such as Inside Out and Big Hero 6.

In short, I’m a nostalgic old fart. New stuff is awesome, but it will never earn my heart like the classics. Keep your new Voltron and Thundercats, I’d much rather watch the old episodes that required foiled antennas and perfect weather conditions!

5. I’ve grown to appreciate the differences in my nerdy friends.

Even though many of them don’t know it, I love and respect all of my nerdy and geeky friends. We often don’t see eye to eye on such important topics like “Who would win in a fight between Batman and Godzilla” (BTW, the answer is always Batman) and “Who was the better Khan?” (Just to tick off old Trekkies, I say Cumberbatch), but we always manage to get along for the most part.

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In many cases, I only get to see them at conventions or at group gatherings. Despite the distance that separates many of us, social media has made it easier to stay in touch.

If you take nothing else away from this post, remember this:

Always be the biggest fan of your friends! No matter how bizarre you might be, they are your friend because they enjoy you for all of your bizarreness. They’ll be there long after the celeb has closed up shop and stopped signing autographs. They will be around whenever your favorite character dies on Game of Thrones. They will be the ones that see you from across the building and give you a Vulcan salute.

They are your friends. CHERISH them! We all eventually leave this world, so enjoy your time with good friends!

Thanks for reading. It’s past my bedtime. I gotta get up before 3 AM and get in line for the buffet!

Signed, An Old Guy.

Inviting “Anarchy” To The Con Scene

Houston, Texas

(Full Disclosure: I was unable to attend the recent Space City Comic Con event. This blogger takes no sides on the issues that occurred there, but is attempting to address what may or may not happen to this event and others like it in the future as a result of what occurred.)

Memorial Day weekend 2016 is usually reserved for Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas. This year, however, a scheduling conflict prevented Comicpalooza from taking place on its traditional weekend and Space City Comic Con, which usually takes place later in the summer, filled the void by bumping their event at the NRG Center up a couple of months.

It looked to be an excellent event featuring comic book artists, authors, and multiple celebrities from across television, the web, and film. Some of the headliners included Billie Piper of Doctor Who, William Shatner of Star Trek, and Ron Perlman and Doug Jones of Hellboy fame. There were many other guests as well such as Camille and Kennerly, known by many as the Harp Twins, and members of the cast of Star Trek Continues.

The main draw, however, was apparently the Sons of Anarchy reunion that featured many of the core cast members including Perlman, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Mark Boone Junior, and Charlie Hunnam. This reunion found itself at the center of a huge controversy that allegedly took place at the convention. (Again, I take no sides on what went down, hence the word “allegedly.” I’ll let the courts of law and public opinion decide the truth.)

You are welcome to search the web to read all sides of the story, but here’s a brief summary of what supposedly happened: Celebrities arrived on Friday only to find that they were denied access to their hotel rooms because the credit card used to secure their rooms was denied. To make things worse, the power was out at the hotel due to some severe storms blowing through the area. Then the celebs were paid with checks that apparently bounced or were written on a cancelled account. Other celebs and guests were allegedly not paid as well, some VIP passes were allegedly not honored, police were called, crowds got angry, Charlie Hunnam left, returned, left again, etc. In short, it was a cluster.

Social media exploded with upset fans and guests, and despite not getting all of their promised money, most of the guests stayed at the event to meet their fans. A few fans posted positive things about the convention as well. Depending on who you ask, con runner George Comits was either arrested or forcibly removed by the Houston Police department. Things went so far that the web rag TMZ became involved. It was chaos.

Hunnam released a statement on his Facebook page about the whole debacle:

Camille and Kennerly, the Harp Twins, posted this photo directed at Comits and the convention with the caption “Read between the lines.”

I’m sure that there will be plenty of other posts like the ones by Hunnam and the Harp Twins. I know for a fact that attendees are still (justifiably) upset about what went down. Space City Comic Con’s Facebook page went dead for a couple of days, only to crank back up with this photo:

There was also a post featuring the winners of the cosplay contest at the event. This post, as well as just about every other post on the page, is chock full with comments demanding answers, refunds, and lots of other things that shouldn’t be mentioned on a family-friendly blog post.

Sooner or later, though, things on social media will simmer down. But social media is only the tip of the iceberg for the after effects of this event. This miscue will not only damage Space City Comic and any of the people directly involved with it, it will also tarnish other conventions in the Houston area and the Gulf South as a whole. Many of the guests that attended the event (media guests, cosplayers, fan groups, performance artists, etc.) will think twice about attending conventions in the Houston area. Why? Because they may not want to risk having to deal with an event that may or may not have former Space City organizers and/or volunteers involved. Who would want to risk getting shafted twice by the same person or persons?

It doesn’t help that most news outlets outside of the Houston area have referred to SCCC as “a Houston convention” and didn’t mention its name specifically. This means that any time a guest is invited to an event in the Houston area, their agent will probably ask them if they are that Houston Comic Con. I was personally involved with an event a few years ago that headed south quickly in a similar fashion (albeit on a much smaller scale and the con runner didn’t allegedly run off with a ton of money). While working the admissions table, I was left to deal with angry guests, attendees, and artists while the con runner went MIA. Even though this was a small con, the actions of the con runner affected another local con as well. I’ve heard people involved with that convention repeatedly say that they aren’t involved with that convention, and witnessed them work extremely hard to distance themselves from the tarnished event despite having no connections to its failure.

The event that I was involved with (and left about eight months later) struggled over the next few years, and has remodeled itself into a much smaller local event. To this day there are fan groups, authors, and artists that refuse to have anything to do with the event, and they most likely will never return. The con runner had to drastically drop the rates for vendor and artist tables just to try and attract them back to the event. The event has even had to move into an event center out of its hometown because of the sour taste left in the mouth of local venues.

Now, magnify that little convention’s errors onto the massive stage that is Houston, TX. How long will it take for fans, artists, vendors, authors, celebs, and cosplayers to return to the event? How far-reaching will the damage be to other conventions in the area? Will the NRG Center allow Space City to put on events at their venue anymore? If not, will other venues welcome SCCC? One thing is for sure, word has spread about what happened at Space City Comic Con 2016, and it will take a lot of work to gain back the trust of everyone that was burned by the event. No matter who is at fault, things look bad for Space City Comic Con.

With that said, I have personally attended all of the events put on by George Comits and Space City Comic Con except for this year’s event and a winter event that took place in Galveston, TX. I remember attending the first event at the Galleria in Houston and watched the con explode over the next couple of years into what I consider a “big con with a small con feel” to it. I never had any negative interactions at any of the Space City events, and made some lifelong friends there as well. Heck, one of my favorite celebrity interactions was with Michele Specht of Star Trek Continues at Space City Comic Con 2015.

DSCF6535 — Myself and the lovely Michele Specht!

I truly hope that all of the drama that is boiling over about Space City gets resolved. It has damaged the reputations of many good people who were involved with it but were not part of the alleged deception and illegal actions of certain other people involved with the event. If it was anybody’s first convention and they had a negative experience, I hope that they don’t let this one bad event prevent them from attending others in Houston and the surrounding area. As far as the many burned guests are concerned, I hope that they recover anything owed to them and that they will continue to attend conventions despite this negative experience.

As always, thanks for reading. If you attended Space City Comic Con, I’d love to hear what you have to say about this event. Feel free to share this post with anybody that you might think would be interested in it as well.

Here’s to better conventions and better convention experiences!

What’s So Civil About War Anyway?

In A Land Chock Full Of Avengers

Captain America: Civil War has been talked about and speculated over for a long time. It finally arrived on the big screen on May 6th, and it has managed to meet the expectations of most fans and exceed those expectations for others.

I fall in the “met expectations” crowd. I was a bit worried that this film would turn into an Avengers-minus-Thor-and-Hulk flick, but it managed to remain true to its title character.

I promise that there will be no spoilers in this review, so read on with confidence.

The film centers around the Sokovia Accords and the demands of 117 governments wanting to be able to control the Avengers and when and where they are allowed into action due to their somewhat destructive nature when it comes to fighting bad guys. Tony Stark, still reeling from the effects of what happened when he created Ultron and intent on righting wrongs, wastes no time in deciding to sign the papers. Falling in line with him is War Machine, Vision, and Black Widow. Captain America, on the other hand, refuses to sign, stating that this will just give the governments of the world total control over him and others like himself.

Not surprisingly, Falcon falls into step behind Cap and Scarlet Witch remains somewhat on the fence at first.

When the time comes to sign the Accords, an attack happens that kills King T’Chaka of Wakanda. His son, T’Challa, takes the throne and the mantle of Black Panther. He vows vengeance against the person (who looks mysteriously like the Winter Soldier) that has murdered his father and ends up siding with Iron Man against Captain America. This leads to a great chase and eventual head-on collision between Team Cap and Team Iron Man.

1280_captain_america_civil_war_spiderman_tom_holland

Captain-America-Civil-War-2-Trailer-Ant-Man-Arrow

A few wildcards are thrown into the mix with Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and Hawkeye. The Wallcrawler suits up with Tony Stark, while Ant-Man and Hawkeye help Captain America. There’s a glorious battle that ensues which leads up to the revelation of the real villain in the tale. He’ll remain nameless due to my no spoiler guarantee, but he ends up being a brilliant addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can’t wait to see what becomes of him in the future.

Much like The Winter Soldier, this Captain America flick takes a very serious turn with its subject matter. Unlike Soldier, this film is quite a bit lighter. This is in part to the wonderful acting skills and scene-stealing antics of Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Tom Holland (Spider-Man). Despite having small (but important) roles in the film, these two characters inject humor and excellent action into the film. Basically Ant-Man fanboys all over Captain America and Spider-Man fanboys all over Iron Man, Captain America, and pretty much all of the Avengers on both sides of the tale. Ant-Man makes jokes, apologizes, and screws up throughout his entire time on the screen. Spider-Man does much of the same, but with that smart-mouthed attitude we’ve all come to know and love from young Peter Parker.

Chadwick Boseman is another scene-stealer as Black Panther. Early on, his vengeance drives him to chase after the Winter Soldier, but his character matures and changes as the film rolls along. By the end of the film, I had an entirely new perspective on the character, and appreciated Boseman’s presence on the screen.

Chris Evans is Captain America, period. Whenever they first announced him as the actor who would become Steve Rogers in the MCU, I was a bit worried. However, Evans embodies the character so well that I find it hard to see anybody else behind the shield. Robert Downey, Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man has matured with each film. The character has gone from a cocky rich jerk to an extremely humbled man looking for absolution. I hope to see the character evolve even more as he makes more appearances in the MCU.

The rest of the cast did excellent jobs. Anthony Mackie was fun as Falcon, as was Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Don Cheadle as War Machine. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany had excellent chemistry as Scarlet Witch and Vision. I see both of these characters playing larger roles as the MCU continues to grow. Scarlett Johansson owns Black Widow, and I’m glad to see her character become more serious in this film than she has been in the Avengers flicks. It was also nice to see the return of William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross, even though he’s a despicable character.

The film did bog down between action sequences at times and there was a bit of sketchy CGI involving Iron Man and War Machine and a few sequences during one of the big battles, but overall, Captain America: Civil War is another solid entry in the MCU.

Sooner or later I plan to make a list that ranks all of the current MCU flicks from my favorite to my least favorite. While Civil War isn’t my number one, it’s definitely in my top five.

As always, thanks for reading. Space City Comic Con is less than two weeks away, and I’m hopeful that I’ll get to go, even if it’s just for one day. If I do go, I’ll be sure to blog about it soon enough.

Go see Civil War. You won’t regret it.

The State of Trek

Now (And In The Future)

Star Trek has come a long way since its beginnings on the small screen back in the 1960’s. The adventures of Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise lasted for only three seasons, but ignited a fire within an entire generation of men and women who would grow up to become engineers and astronauts, dreamers and artists, and a multitude of other wonderful things. Star Trek made the individual look outside of himself and into a world full of differences, and gave the individual hope that a world built upon so many different races, religions, and cultures, could live together in some type of harmony.

Flash forward to the late 70’s, and Trek hits the big screen with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Outside of an animated series and a book series that featured stories from writers of the original series, there wasn’t much Trek going around at the time, but with the success of Star Wars on the big screen, fans were excited to see Star Trek get the film treatment. George Lucas has said that without Trek’s success on the small screen, there never would have been a Star Wars.

The film did well in theaters, but was heavily criticized for being slow and for its reliance on a lot of special effects. It did well enough that Paramount gave the green light to a second film, The Wrath of Khan, that opened the door for more sequels such as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (my personal favorite).

With the success of the films, talks began about bringing Trek back to the small screen, but not with the beloved crew of the original series. By 1987, a new Enterprise was crossing the stars with a new crew in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I vividly remember older fans believing that it would be impossible for a new group of actors to fill the shoes of the likes of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley and then watched the same fans begin to trumpet their love for Picard, Riker, Data, and the rest of the new crew.

nextgen — Star Trek: The Next Generation

The series was highly successful and is still looked at as one of the top science fiction series of all time. It did so well, in fact, that the TNG crew would go on to make films of their own, each meeting with varying degrees of success. The show’s success would also open the doors for even more shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.

Star-Trek-Nemesis — From Star Trek: Nemesis

Film and Television — Photo by Moviestore/REX Shutterstock (1613873a) Star Trek: Voyager

Seven-seven-of-nine-15093087-2560-1600 — Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine from *Star Trek: Voyager*

Another series, Enterprise, was also spawned from the success of TNG, DS9, and Voyager. However, it was met with heavy criticism from both fans and the media. It’s viewing numbers declined with each season, and while its three predecessors managed to each last for seven seasons, Enterprise was cancelled after only four seasons. Its finale, in fact, is one of the least liked shows in all of Trekdom.

In 2009, Paramount released the highly anticipated Star Trek film that brought Kirk and co. back to the big screen, albeit with new, younger actors taking on the roles. For the most part, it was successful, but many fans felt that the film, despite its flashy sequences and solid performances from the majority of the cast, had lost Gene Roddenberry’s vision. Much like The Motion Picture, it was criticized for using too many special effects. It was also criticized for changing the timeline of the original crew. In all honesty, though, I believe that that was an excellent move on the part of JJ Abrams and the film’s writers. It allowed TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager to live on in an alternate timeline while Abrams could take the original characters in entirely different directions.

Chris-Pine-in-Star-Trek-Into-Darkness-2013-Movie-Image — Chris Pine as Captain Kirk

Star-Trek-2-Benedict-Cumberbatch — L to R: Zachary Quinto as Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, and Chris Pine as Kirk

Sadly, Abrams took a page (and a most beloved one at that) out of TOS and the Trek films’ book and brought the character of Khan back into the fray. Many fans hated this idea and went so far as to accuse Abrams of plagiarizing the classic series and the second Trek film. The movie was still very successful, but a definite breach was forming between traditional fans of the Star Trek and newer fans that had only been exposed to the work of Abrams and (possibly) later shows like Enterprise or Voyager.

A new film, Star Trek: Beyond, is slated to debut this year, but after seeing the first trailer for the film, many fans were left with a sour taste in their mouths. Music from The Beastie Boys (a running theme in the new films, apparently) blares as we see characters beam out of scenarios in mid-air, watch action sequences with explosions, hand-to-hand combat, and motorcycles (yep, motorcycles), and the Enterprise is apparently destroyed…..again. Top that off with new director Justin Lin of The Fast and the Furious films, and it looks like Trek has fully embraced the generation of the short memory.

Whether or not this assumption holds true is still up for debate in my book. The writers and some of the actors have come out publicly defending the film, stating that the trailer doesn’t truly represent what Beyond is all about. I really do hope that they are correct, as I enjoyed the first Abrams film but didn’t enjoy his second outing as much.

With that said, though, these new films have introduced a younger audience to Trek. My daughter barely paid any attention to any incarnation of Star Trek until these films came out. Now, she looks forward to the next film, and has started to show interest in certain episodes of Voyager and TOS. Her favorite characters are Leonard Nimoy’s Spock and Karl Urban’s take on Bones.

2013-10-26_Trek_Continues — *Star Trek Continues*

Also, Star Trek has taken on a life of its own in independent films and series created by fans. Shows like Star Trek Continues and Star Trek Phase II continue the five year mission of TOS, taking great care in how they shoot, write, and act out each episode.

Adrienne_Wilkinson_star_Trek_Renegades_Captain_Lexxa_Singh5 — Star Trek: Renegades

Larger scale independent productions have also hit the web in the form of films like Star Trek: Renegades, which was originally created as a series pitch to CBS. The film is excellent, and received such high praise from fans that a second and final installment, Star Trek: Renegades, Requiem will be produced very soon.

Unfortunately, some of the larger productions have drawn the attention of CBS and Paramount. One such production, Star Trek: Axanar, has found itself in legal troubles with Paramount. A short, Prelude to Axanar, was released a while back in the hopes of drumming up support for a full scale film. The teaser was excellent and managed to help raise a lot of money for the production. However, the production has come under fire from Paramount after it was found out that a studio built for the non-profit film would also be used for some for-profit productions. This, along with a whole bunch of other legal issues with the production, has raised a lot of questions as to just how far a fan production can reach when trying to introduce new stories and new adventures into Trek lore.

I actually stand with Paramount on this issue. If something illegal has occurred, Paramount and CBS have every right to protect their property. What is it about this particular production that has drawn the attention of Paramount? Other fan productions are rolling along with little to no problems with Paramount and/or CBS.

Of course, this is all speculation on my part. I’m not privy to the information that is being discussed. I’ve been told that the Axanar group is sharing all of their legal documents with donors but I have to wonder if they are only sharing the good stuff and keeping all of the negative items out of view of their donors. I look at it as a company showing shareholders (donors) their positive gains and hiding or downplaying the severity of any losses. Again, this is just speculation, but I have to wonder what’s really going on here.

Oh, and speaking of speculation, there’s also a new Star Trek series on the horizon. Not much is known about it right now except that it will not take place in the JJ-verse and that the first episode will premiere on CBS with subsequent episodes available on CBS All Access (a pay streaming service). Hopefully it will be a good show, but it’s still under wraps at the moment.

Well, that’s enough of me rambling about Star Trek. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this and if you’ve made it this far into this post, I must thank you for taking time out of your day for reading my thought bubbles.

Live long and prosper, friends, and let’s hope that Star Trek stays afloat for many years to come.

T-Minus One Month And Counting…

Space City, Houston, Texas

A few years ago I decided to go on a solo adventure to the Galleria in Houston, TX for a first year convention that featured such guests as Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek: TOS, Bonnie Piesse of the Star Wars prequels, and Joseph Gatt of Game of Thrones, Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness, and multiple other projects. When I got there, I was a bit lost. Not because the convention had poor directions, but because I didn’t know anybody at the convention. I was that one guy from Louisiana that crossed over the Sabine River into H-town and didn’t know anyone in the whole joint…..until I ran into an artist friend of mine named Vo Nguyen. We talked for a long time, but soon enough I had to leave his table so that other folks could find out how cool he was and how great his artwork was as well.

Despite only knowing Vo, my social anxiety didn’t prevent me from meeting new people. I talked to numerous folks in different fan groups, other artists, and a lot of vendors. I also managed to get autographs and photos from Ms. Piesse, Mr. Gatt, and Jason David Frank, the Green Power Ranger.

When I left the convention, I was happy to have attended it. It was fun, a tad chaotic, but all in all, a solid first year event. I looked forward to the next convention. In fact, Space City is the only convention that I have ever booked for the next year as soon as tickets were available and before any guests were announced. I had decided that I was going to make Space City Comic Con an annual event, even if there were no guests that I wanted to see in attendance.

Well, I needn’t worry about not having any excellent guests to see. Over the last few years Space City has welcomed personal favorites like Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor from Doctor Who, Adrienne Wilkinson from Xena and many other projects, and Michele Specht from Star Trek Continues. Other excellent guests that have attended include Richard Hatch, J. G. Hertzler, Denise Crosby, Vic Mignogna, Jason Momoa, Melissa Ponzio, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darville, and the Shat himself, William Shatner.

This year plans to be just as exciting as every other year. Sons of Anarchy fans might be interested to know that a cast reunion will happen at this year’s convention.

Along with the SOA cast members, there will be a TON of other guests. Just a few of the names that you might recognize are the returning Gigi Edgley, William Shatner, and Michele Specht, as well as newcomers like Drea De Matteo, Doug Jones, Billie Piper, Colin Baker, Alex Kingston, and many, many more. There are literally too many of them to list here, so I highly suggest that you check out Space City Comic Con’s website here! Below is just a taste of the wonderful lineup that Space City has in store!

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If that’s not enough for ya, be sure to hang out with the many faces of Star Trek that will be on hand including Marina Sirtis, Chris Doohan, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Rene Auberjonois, and the aforementioned Mr. Shatner and the lovely Michele Specht!

I plan on attending this excellent event. As of right now I have not secured my ticket, but I hope to acquire it very soon. If you plan on attending, let me know in the comments!

As always, thanks for reading. Here’s a little slideshow of a few of the faces I’ve met over the years at Space City Comic Con. I plan on making more memories this year!

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Revisiting Voyager

The Delta Quadrant

I’ve been watching a lot, and I mean a lot, of Star Trek: Voyager in the last couple of months and I have to say that I’ve become extremely fond of the series. My first exposure to the show was in syndication a few years ago, but I never was able to watch it consistently. Now, with the beloved streaming service that is Amazon Prime, I’ve been able to catch up with numerous television shows and films that I missed on the first go round or never had the opportunity to see on a regular basis.

While catching up, I came across the brilliant episode entitled Tuvix. I immediately fell in love with the episode due to the moral and ethical challenges it presented to the crew of Voyager. In my opinion, Star Trek has always been at its best whenever it challenged the viewer to think. Two previous episodes of Trek that came to mind while watching Tuvix were The Devil In The Dark and Outcast. From the Original Series, Devil dealt with the Horta, a creature that is believed to be attacking miners on Janus VI, but turns out to be a misunderstood alien that is merely protecting its young. The challenge comes whenever Spock decides that the creature might be the last of its kind and shouldn’t be killed but Kirk believes that the lives of the miners are more important and that eliminating the Horta was the right thing to do. Kirk is eventually convinced that the Horta just wants to be left alone and allowed to raise its children. Together with Spock and Bones, Kirk convinces the miners to leave the Horta alone and, in return, the Horta would help the miners find valuable minerals on the planet.

The Next Generation episode entitled Outcast sees Riker befriend a J’naii scientist named Soren while the two work together to find a missing J’naii shuttle. The two eventually become romantic (surprise, surprise, Number One!), but their love is forbidden due to the fact that the J’naii are an androgynous race that see identifying as a male or female within their species as a perversion. When their romance is witnessed by another J’naii, Soren is placed on trial and sentenced to treatment in order to remove any perverse thoughts of sexual identity despite attempts by Riker and Picard to stop the process. Unfortunately Soren is “treated” and returns to an androgynous state.

Both of these episodes challenge the viewer. They make the viewer look at all sides of the story. Is the Horta worth protecting? Should Soren be allowed to follow her desires? Are the J’naii wrong for wanting to “treat” Soren? Are the miners justified in their intentions to kill the Horta? At first the answers seem clear, but looking deeper into both situations, one learns that the decision is extremely difficult depending on how you look at it.

Tuvix poses a similar question. In the episode, Tuvok and Neelix are fused together while beaming back aboard Voyager. This results in the creation of a new life form that takes on characteristics of both men. Tom Wright potrayed Tuvix in the episode and did a brilliant job of combining the Vulcan leanings of Tim Russ’ Tuvok and the humorous aspects of Ethan Phillips’ Neelix.

The holographic Doctor is unable to separate the two men into their respective beings, but vows to find a way to bring them back. In the meantime, Tuvix begins to adjust to his new life. He struggles with the memories, feelings (or lack thereof in the case of Tuvok), and relationships of both men. The crew attempts to adjust to their newest member as well, with Kes having a particular amount of trouble with Tuvix. While she showed him no ill will, she remained uncomfortable around him for a long time since she was romantically involved with Neelix and looked up to Tuvok as a mentor and good friend.

As Tuvix and the crew adjust to life with each other, he proves to be an integral part of the crew. He also develops a sense of self. He is literally a new man, and as the Doctor’s research begins to show some signs of successfully being able to separate Tuvix into the two persons that he once was, talk surfaces of actually attempting to bring Tuvok and Neelix back.

It is at this point where the crew, particularly Captain Janeway, faces a moral dilemma. On one hand, restoring Tuvok and Neelix to their distinct selves seems to be the right course of action. On the other, Tuvix has fully integrated himself into the daily activities of Voyager, bonded to varying degrees with members of the crew, and has become a unique individual.

Would bringing back Tuvok and Neelix essentially kill an individual? Despite being two men bonded into one, Tuvix is his own person.

By allowing Tuvix to remain as he is, does that mean that Tuvok and Neelix no longer exist or no longer have the right to live?

It’s a brilliantly difficult moral and ethical dilemma, one that truly has no right answer. One could argue that Tuvok and Neelix deserve to live, but Tuvix deserves to live just as much. Tuvix is adamant that he be allowed to live, essentially denying the right to life for both Neelix and Tuvok.

Even the viewers are forced to struggle with whether or not Tuvix should live. In the brief time that we get to know him, he is presented as likeable, humorous, intelligent, and a well-adjusted being. Viewers like Tuvix as much as the crew of the ship likes him. The viewers have also developed a relationship with Tuvok and Neelix over the first and second season at this point. Much like Janeway, Chakotay, Kes, and the rest of the Voyager crew, we are asked to make a decision on who is allowed to exist and who must be sacrificed.

Ultimately there is no correct answer. No matter who Janeway or the viewer decides to live, someone else has to suffer for it. That is what makes the episode so brilliant. After the credits roll, the crew of Voyager AND the viewer is left with no real resolution to the events that unfold. Unlike Devil and Outcast, where the viewer can turn off the episode knowing in their mind that they are correct about their decision on what should have happened, Tuvix leaves the viewer internally struggling with what happened, why it happened, and if it should have even happened. It’s wonderful, and has quickly made this episode one of my top ten episodes in all of Trekdom.

I highly recommend watching Tuvix if you haven’t done so. It will leave you thinking, conflicted, and longing for more episodes that are just as excellent.

Tuvix is Trek done right. Few episodes are as wonderful as this one.

As always, thanks for reading. As I watch more Trek, I’ll be sure to blog about the episodes that really stick out to me. Sooner or later I’ll address The Devil In The Dark and Outcast in their own posts. I really enjoyed writing this post, and I believe that I might focus more on content like this. Let me know in the comments if you would like for me to post more things like this.

Live long and prosper.

CyPhaCon 2016!

Lake Charles, LA

CyPhaCon celebrated its sixth year in 2016 this past weekend and, as usual, it was an excellent event. Although I spent most of my time at the USS Lafitte table, I managed to attend two panels, hosted one panel, and also got to meet the wonderful Nana Visitor of Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

I attended a panel about the local Starfleet International group, the USS Lafitte (of which I am a part of) and its beginnings. I also attended a panel which was actually a performance by the wonderful ladies of Orion’s Envy. They introduced a new dance number into their performance and it was excellent.

My panel was basically a free-for-all about Doctor Who. We talked about our favorite Doctors, our favorite episodes, and our favorite companions. There was a surprising amount of people who declared Christopher Eccleston as their favorite Doctor and quite a few people who claimed Amy Pond as their favorite companion. From there, the panel turned into a discussion of multiple fandoms, from Batman to Star Trek.

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There was a whole lot of things going on, but what makes CyPhaCon so special to me is the amount of time that I get to spend with friends. A few of my friends are featured in the slideshow above, including members of other SFI groups, the Just Us League, and other groups.

I took many other pictures, but most of them feature one of my children and, as a rule, I do not post photos of my kids on this blog.

If you attended CyPhaCon, let me know if you enjoyed it. It was a really fun convention and I can’t wait to attend it next year!

The Local Con

Lake Charles, LA

I still haven’t recovered from the awesomeness that was (and still is) Southern Geek Fest, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not excited and/or ready for ANOTHER convention this weekend, April 8-10, on my own turf in Lake Charles, LA. CyPhaCon returns for its sixth year at the Lake Charles Civic Center and it looks like this might be their biggest event yet!

As you can see from the header and the very Doctor Who-like circles above, CyPhaCon is bringing a ton of talent when it comes to media guests. Nana Visitor of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Aaron Douglas of Battlestar Galactica, and Tony Amendola from Stargate: SG1 will be in attendance as well as Monica Rial and Kyle Hebert of Dragon Ball Z and other various anime productions.

The Suzaku 7

Orion’s Envy

Entertainment will be provided by the always excellent Suzaku 7 (who I was unable to see at SGF due to other commitments) and the lovely and entrancing ladies of Orion’s Envy as well as other groups such as the hilarious Take One Productions. Cosplayers, comic artists, authors, and many others will also be at the convention ready to entertain you. CyPhaKids will be putting on activities for the younger nerds and geeks in attendance, so don’t worry about your little ones getting bored because dad’s sitting through another panel about costuming!

This year CyPhaCon will also have a pub crawl for the first time and there will also be a Fan Appreciation Party.

Be sure to check out the convention website for more info including ticket prices, panel and entertainment schedules, and maps for the event.

As always, thanks for reading. Be sure to look me up if you’re going to the event. I’ll be blogging and posting photos afterwards, so check that out as well, because you never know who might show up in the photos!

Southern Geek Fest!!!

Hattiesburg, MS

Over the weekend I took a road trip to Hattiesburg, MS for the first ever Southern Geek Fest. It was an excellent event put on by Rafe White, Tim Nicholas, and a wonderful group of local and not-so local volunteers. There was an excellent mix of vendors, authors, comic artists, celebrities, and cosplayers.

12924513_10207726117884191_8998140381253735326_n — The event prior to opening.

The convention was very laid back. Since many of the attendees were part of Southern Geek’s Facebook group, the convention felt more like a family reunion or a get-together of good friends (many of which were meeting for the first time) than an actual convention. That, in my opinion, is a good thing. The Forrest County Multipurpose Center served as an adequate venue to hold the convention at, allowing for plenty of floor space and two nice panel rooms that were actually in a building adjacent to the main facility.

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Fan groups from Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, and other fandoms were on site, as well as a few local groups as well. Many of them were having raffles or special events (like shooting a Dalek) to raise money for various charities. Miss Southern Magnolia, Alexis Carter, was also present, raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network. She was posing for photos, signing autographs, and seemed to be a genuinely sweet young lady. Myself and a friend talked with her briefly and she was kind enough to pose for photos with us.

Alexis Carter autograph.

Captain ‘Murica, Alexis, and DDK.

There were many excellent celebrities on hand as well, including Tim Russ of Star Trek: Voyager, Anne Mahoney of The Walking Dead, Jeremy London of Mallrats, and John Mangus of Jurassic World and many other films. I visited with Mr. Russ and picked up an autograph from him. I also sat in on his panel. I’ve known John Mangus for a few years now, and he’s always a treat to visit with whenever we see each other at conventions.

12928288_10207726114124097_31848545864507418_n — John Mangus and myself.

12920307_10207726109003969_3997801883732616998_n — Tim Russ autograph.

I also got to meet Scotty Whitehurst, a member of the cast and crew of Star Trek Continues. I can honestly say that this is one of the best shows around and every single member of the cast and crew that I’ve met or interacted with online has been cordial.

944013_10207726110244000_8166694865194982771_n — Autographed Scotty Whitehurst photo.

SGF featured a number of excellent cosplayers including Alice Infinity, Kimberly Battista, Angie Starr, and Shane Dison. I’ve known Shane for awhile now and he’s one of the coolest people that you could ever meet. He gets what I’m doing with DDK and demanded that I keep my left ear cocked like I did with my previous costume. I also visited with Angie Starr. She also gets the whole DDK thing and thought that it was very cool. All of the cosplayers were very nice, and I hope that SGF brings some of them back next year.

12936501_10207726117244175_5772957601089679830_n — DDK with Angie Starr as Harley Quinn.

12670529_10207726116164148_6648133199612438354_n — With Shane Dison as a Toaster…..er, Cylon.

I also got to meet a few new people and catch up with old friends. Many of my friends and myself were either volunteering or involved with groups at the convention. Will still managed to get a reasonable amount of time to hang out with each other. I also got to eat that evening with a few friends.

My favorite costume at the convention.

Don’t blink? Why not?

Doom Metal CDs from Cave Moran!

As the convention started to wind down a bit, I snagged a few Doom Metal CDs from Cave Moran, who’s also an artist (just check out his work on the album covers). I managed to listen to all of them on my long ride back home. Driving to and from the convention was crazy. I had to deal with bad rain throughout most of Louisiana and typical terrible Baton Rouge traffic on my drive to Hattiesburg and beautiful skies and a road raging lunatic on my way home. With that said, though, I’d do it all over again to go back to Southern Geek Fest.

This was a very fun event, and I hope that it was a success as well. Attendance appeared to be steady and strong, and I heard of very few complaints. Hopefully Rafe, Tim, and the core staff of this event will keep what worked and change whatever they feel needs to be changed.

As I stated in a previous post, this event looked to be an excellent first timer. It definitely was. If SGF returns next year, I hope to see YOU there!

Heck, even DDK was sad to see the event end!

As always, thanks for reading. If you attended this event, let me know what you thought about it and if you plan on returning next year!!!!

On Fire!

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On Top Of The Hill And About To Go Over

1. Geeks and nerds have it a lot easier these days.

2. It has never been easier to get your geek on.

3. We have entered the age of the instant fan.

4. Older fans enjoy new characters, but keep going back to the classics they grew up with.

5. I’ve grown to appreciate the differences in my nerdy friends.

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Houston, Texas

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In A Land Chock Full Of Avengers

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Now (And In The Future)

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Space City, Houston, Texas

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The Delta Quadrant

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Lake Charles, LA

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Lake Charles, LA

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Hattiesburg, MS

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