New comic book report Feb. 6, 2013

24th Annual Motor City Comic Con welcomes a Great Galaxy of Comic Stars for 2013

Novi, Mi: Now in its 24^th year, Motor City Comic Con is one of the fastest growing Comic Conventions in the United States!  MCCC’s singular mix of stellar Comic world luminaries, as well as a glittering array of iconic TV and film stars and fan favorites from the World of Wrestling, has made it a sprawling celebration of Pop Culture and a destination event for fans from across the region. The dazzling array of Comic talent heading for Motor City Comic Con in May far surpasses any previous Michigan show. In addition to the iconic creator   Stan Lee, Motor City Comic Con 2013 is also very pleased to welcome:

George Pérez: In his more than 38-year career, Mr. Pérez has been involved with many of the industry’s landmark publications. With writer Marv Wolfman, Mr. Pérez created The New Teen Titan, which helped bring DC Comics back into competitive prominence during the 1980’s. The team struck gold again when they redefined the entire DC Universe in the hugely successful Crisis On Infinite Earths and its follow-up History Of The DC Universe. Pérez had two enormously successful runs, almost two decades apart, on The Avengers and attained great personal success as writer and artist for the 1980s re-launch of Wonder Woman.      www.george-perez.com

Don Rosa: Well known in American comics fandom since the 1960’s for his vast comic book collection and fanzine writing & cartooning, Rosa became internationally famous starting in 1987 when he began writing and drawing “Uncle $crooge” and “Donald Duck” comics for various licensed publishers in Europe. Just as they once were in America, Donald Duck comics (based on Carl Barks’ work) continue to be the best selling comic books in Europe and South America where the *weekly* Duck comics have been read by hundreds of millions of fans for over 60 years. This makes Rosa one of the world’s best known and most popular cartoonists, but still very easy to visit with at American shows where he can relax in “relative obscurity”. American comics fans are mostly familiar with his most famous and oft-reprinted work, the Eisner Award winning “Life and Times of $crooge McDuck” series.

Ryan Stegman: Michigan’s own Stegman is best known for his work on Marvel Comics characters including: Fantastic Four, SCARLET SPIDER, Amazing Spider-Man, SHE-HULKS, and X-23.

Katie Cook:  Cook is a comic book artist and writer that has worked on Star Wars, Marvel, Jim Henson projects and more! she also is the creator behind the popular webcomic ‘gronk: a monster's story’ and writer of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book. www.katiecandraw.com.

Rafael Albuquerque: Albuquerque is the critically acclaimed Eisner and Harvey Award winner co-creator of Crimeland (Image Comics, 2007), Mondo Urbano (Oni Press, 2010) and the NY Times Bestseller, American Vampire ( DC Comics/Vertigo, 2010) written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King. Making comics since 2003, Rafael has worked with all major publishers in the business, illustrating popular books such as Blue Beetle, Superman/Batman for DC Comics, and, recently, The Uncanny X-Force for Marvel. http://rafaelalbuquerque.com/

David Lloyd: Lloyd started working in comics in the late 1970s, drawing for Halls of Horror, TV Comic and a number of Marvel UK titles. With writer Steve Parkhouse, he created the pulp adventure character Night Raven. Lloyd has also worked on Espers, with writer James D. Hudnall, for Eclipse Comics; Hellblazer, with writers Grant Morrison and Jamie Delano,and War Story, with Garth Ennis, for DC; and Global Frequency, with Warren Ellis, for Wildstorm. With Delano he also drew The Territory for Dark Horse, where he has also worked on some of their licensed properties like Aliens and James Bond. He has also created a graphic novel, Kickback, for French publisher Editions Carabas. www.lforlloyd.com 

Mark McKenna: Mark McKenna is a long time comic artist and inker, having worked on nearly 500 titles and 8,000 pages of art.  He has worked on major titles for Marvel, DC Comics, Archie and Image Comics, including Batman, Wolverine, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and most recently on Star Wars, counting over 450 comics in all. Mark is currently working for Dark Horse Comics on Star Wars-The Old Republic: The Lost Suns. Recently his work on the online web comic titled "Star Wars: Blood of the Empire" was collected into an 84 page trade paperback. Recently, Mark was honored as a member of the 2012 Inkwell Hall of Fame. www.markmckennaart.com
Mike McKone:   McKone's first published works for the major companies included DC Comics' Justice League of America and Justice League International for DC Comics and The Punisher War Zone for Marvel Comics. However, it was his work on Marvel's Exiles which brought him instant attention, and led him to work on two of DC's Teen Titans and Marvel's Fantastic Four. McKone is currently penciling Avengers Academy for Marvel Comics.
Tom Raney: Raney is best known for his work on such series as Annihilation Conquest, Alpha Flight, Ultimate X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, DV8, Stormwatch, and Outsiders. Recent work includes the limited series Dark Reign: Hawkeye, with writer Andy Diggle. http://tomraney.blogspot.com

Don Rosa: Well known in American comics fandom since the 1960’s for his vast comic book collection and fanzine writing & cartooning, Rosa became internationally famous starting in 1987 when he began writing and drawing “Uncle $crooge” and “Donald Duck” comics for various licensed publishers in Europe. Just as they once were in America, Donald Duck comics (based on Carl Barks’ work) continue to be the best selling comic books in Europe and South America where the *weekly* Duck comics have been read by hundreds of millions of fans for over 60 years. This makes Rosa one of the world’s best known and most popular cartoonists, but still very easy to visit with at American shows where he can relax in “relative obscurity”. American comics fans are mostly familiar with his most famous and oft-reprinted work, the Eisner Award winning “Life and Times of $crooge McDuck” series.

Kalman Andrasofszky:  Andrasofszky got his start creating illustration for roleplaying games. Over the years he's produced a massive amount of art for Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, and Vampire: The Masquerade RPGs, among others. He also contributed significantly to establishing the visual style of D2O Modern.
In 2003 Kalman co-created and illustrated the comic book series iCandy for DC. From there he has gone on to freelance extensively for Marvel, DC, Image Comics, Top Cow and BOOM! Studios. He's produced art and covers for such titles as Spider-man, Action Comics, The Punisher, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Dazzler, NYX, X-23, Tomb of Dracula, Checkmate, and Gi Joe. He's currently the regular cover artist on X-Treme X-Men for Marvel. www.iamkalman.com.

The 24^th annual Motor City Comic Con is May 17-19, 2013 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI. A complete list of guests, plus exhibitor, sponsor and ticket information is available at

www.motorcitycomiccon.com

Why I won't eat at Applebee's

   No, I'm not boycotting them because they fired someone, it's the company's right to hire and fire as they see fit. I won't be eating there again because of a poor night out a few weeks ago.

   I took my mother to the local Applebee's in Toledo for her birthday on Jan. 4. Mom had never been to an Applebee's before, and I hadn't been in there in a while myself. The place was relatively busy, but not too overcrowded. We were seated within 5 minutes of getting there.

   They took forever to take our order though, and more than 45 minutes after we ordered to deliver our food. Both of us had ordered a rare steak. I mean come on how long does it take to "not" cook a steak?

   All the while, the waitress didn't come back to our table, neither of us was offered a drink refill. When we finally did get our food, it took another five minutes before we could start eating, as they hadn't given us any silverware. Apparently they were out.

   The steak was ok, but we had both told the waitress that we didn't want the mixed vegetables, yes this is getting a bit nitpicky, but they were provided anyway, complete with the juice that puddled on the plate, and sloshed onto the steak, making a few bites taste like broccoli. Normally not something I'd complain about but with all of the other things, it bears mentioning.

   On the "bright" side they did provide a free milkshake for mom with it being her birthday. The problem with that being that she told them she didn't want it, and is diabetic.

Overall we spent about $40 on a meal that turned out to be average at best, and an experience that was terrible. That's why I'll not return to any Applebee's Restaurant, not because they fired a waitress for violating a company policy, no matter how stupid that policy is.