All of the upcoming comic conventions in 2021 and beyond - NewsRama

 By Chris Arrant

Comic conventions are slowly coming back - here's what to look forward to.

Comic conventions have grown to become an integral part of the comic book experience, allowing fans to meet their favorite comic creators, buy an array of comic book merchandise, and bond with fans just like them.

While the COVID-19 pandemic stymied the 'classic' comic convention experience for much of 2020 and early 2021, convention organizers are slowly beginning to return to in-person events.

Reedpop, for example, has set up dates for Emerald City Comic Con and C2E2 for this fall - and has released some expansive plans for safety in this pandemic times which include proof of vaccine, mask requirements, and temperature checks at some conventions.

And while Comic-Con International: San Diego will once again be 'virtual' this July, the organization is planning a scaled-down event called Comic-Con: Special Edition this November.

With that in mind, we have assembled a list of all the upcoming conventions comic book fans should be aware of.

Please keep in mind your safety. Pay attention to local authorities about social distancing guidelines, and check with the conventions for how they're handling the crowds. Be informed and make the best decision for you and those you're bringing with you.

Due to the pandemic, a number of major conventions have yet to announce dates for their next event, but we're keeping a watch out for news about Small Press Expo, Keystone Comic Con, and more.

Here is a list of the upcoming comic conventions across the globe:

November 2021

• November 5 - 7: Rhode Island Comic Con (Providence, Rhode Island)

• November 5 - 7: Supanova Brisbane (Brisbane, Australia)

• November 6 - 7: Giant-Size Charlotte Mini-Con (Charlotte, North Carolina)

• November 8 - 14: Thought Bubble (Harrogate, United Kingdom)

• November 13 - 14: Comic Con Liverpool (Liverpool, England)

• November 13 - 14: MCM Birmingham Comic Con (Birmingham, England)

• November 19 - 21: London Film & Comic Con (London, England)

• November 20 & 21: Heroes Dutch Comic Con (Utrecht, the Netherlands)

• November 20 & 21: Vienna Comic Con (Vienna, Austria)

• November 26 - 28: Comic-Con Special Edition (San Diego, California)

December 2021

• December 2 - 5: Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle, Washington)

• December 3 - 5: L.A. Comic Con (Los Angeles, California)

• December 10 - 12: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) Chicago, Illinois)

• December 11: Fan Expo Dallas Holiday Market (Dallas, Texas)

• December 18 & 19: Comic Con Revolution: Ontario (Ontario, California)

• December 30 & 31: Comiket (Tokyo, Japan)

January 2022

• January 14 - 16: Albuquerque Comic Con (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

• January 14 - 16: Puerto Rico Comic Con (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

• January 27 - 30: Angoulême International Comics Festival (Angoulême, France)

February 2022

• February 6: Simi Valley Toy and Comic Fest (Simi Valley, California)

• February 12 - 13: Long Beach Comic Expo (Long Beach, California)

• February 18 - 20: Pensacon (Pensacola, Florida)

• February 19 - 20: Oz Comic Con (Adelaide, Australia)

• February 19 & 20: Alaska Comic Con (Fairbanks, Alaska)

March 2022

• March 18 - 20: Toronto Comic Con (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

• March 18 - 20: La Mole Comic Convention (Mexico City, Mexico)

April 2022

• April 1 - 3: WonderCon (Anaheim, California)

• April 2 - 3: MoCCa Arts Fest (New York City, New York)

• April 7 - 10: Romics (Rome, Italy)

• April 8 - 10: Star Trek: Mission Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

• April 16 - 17: Edinburgh Comic Con (Edinburgh, Scotland)

• April 21 - 24: Calgary Expo (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

May 2022

• May 20 - 22: Florida Supercon (Miami Beach, Florida)

• May 21 and 22: Comic Con Revolution - Ontario (Ontario, California)

• May 21 and 22: Comic Con Liverpool (Liverpool, England)

• May 26 - 29: Star Wars Celebration (Anaheim, California)

• May 27 - 29: Comicpalooza (Houston, Texas)

• May 27 - 29: Phoenix Fan Fusion (Phoenix, Arizona)

June 2022

• June 4 & 5: Infinity Con (Tallahassee, Florida)

• June 24 - 26: Heroes Con (Charlotte, North Carolina)

July 2022

• July 8 - 10: Montreal Comiccon (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

August 2022

• August 25 - 28: Fan Expo Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

September 2022

• September 9 - 11: D23 Expo (Anaheim, California)

• September 9 - 11: Rose City Comic Con (Portland, Oregon)

• September 9 - 11: Ottawa Comiccon (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

• September 16 - 18: Edmonton Expo (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

• September 24 - 26: Comic Con Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa)

October 2022

• October 6 - 9: New York Comic Con (New York City, NY)

• October 8 and 9: Comic Con Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland)

• October 28 - 30: Baltimore Comic-Con (Baltimore, Maryland)

Netflix's Cowboy Bebop Shares New Cast Photos - ComicBook.com

 

By NICK VALDEZ - September 26, 2021 

Netflix has shared new photos from recently revealed members of the cast for their new live-action Cowboy Bebop series! It's been a strange ride for many fans of Sunrise's original anime series as we have steadily seen much more of this upcoming adaptation. These first looks have revealed how closely the new series is paying attention to bringing certain details of the anime to life, and this came through especially with the debut of its opening sequence that completely mirrors the anime's. Now Netflix has shared a closer look at some of the new additions first seen during this opening as well. 

While previously revealed to be a part of the cast, Netflix's official Geeked Twitter account revealed closer look cast photos of Tamara Tunia as Ana, Mason Alexander Park as Gren, Alex Hassell as Vicious, and Elena Satine as Julia. Each of these characters make their full debut in the opening sequence, but these special photos show fans a much better look at how these various anime favorites have made the full transition to the live-action world. 

Cowboy Bebop will be making its debut worldwide with Netflix on November 19th. Running for ten episodes, the series stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Alex Hassell, Elena Satine, Tamara Tunie, Mason Alexander Park, Jay Uddin, Lydia Peckham, Adrienne Barbeau, Rodney Cook, Josh Randall, and many more. Netflix officially describes the series as such, "Cowboy Bebop is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka 'cowboys,' all trying to outrun the past. 

As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system's most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them."

Original series director Shinichiro Watanabe serves as supervisor for the new series while original composer Yoko Kanno returns for new music, so there will be much more familiar elements under the hood of this live-action adaptation as well than fans might realize at first. But what do you think of this new look at some of the cast for Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop series? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

Eternals May Have One of MCU's Longest Run Times - ComicBook.com

 

By ADAM BARNHARDT - September 25, 2021 05:17 pm EDT

Eternals already has a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, meaning post-production work on the feature is locked in and complete. It was only a matter of time before an official run time for the movie surfaced and now, it appears that time has arrived. A new listing on the Russian-language Kino Metro lists Eternals with a run times of 156 minutes, or two hours and 36 minutes.

Should that be the case, the Chloe Zhao feature would be just four minutes shy of being the second-longest-running film in the MCU. As it stands now, the film is beat out by Avengers: Endgame at three hours and two minutes, and Avengers: Infinity War at two hours and 40 minutes.

As the team at The Direct points out, the site in question has listed the accurate runtimes for films like Halloween Kills and The Last Duel before. Even then, it's still night final and is subject to change.

Kevin Feige previously suggested the feature was set to take place over thousands of years while diving into the reasoning why the titular group didn't get involved in some of the MCU's biggest events.

"[The audience] will understand why," Zhao recently told Total Film of why the group didn't previously interfere. "Not only why, but how complicated not interfering made them feel. We explore that. You'll see that in the film. The Eternals were instructed not to interfere with any human conflict unless Deviants are involved. There's a reason why that's the case. And that was the instruction from the prime Celestial Arishem."

"What excited me is the idea of going back in time, and exploring [the time] before Thanos was born, before anyone was born," she continued. "Where does the MCU go back in time? And that brings us to the mythology of the Celestials. Anything involving the Celestials is going to be at a huge scale level of complication, let's put it that way."

Eternals is currently set for release on November 5th.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - PlayStation Showcase 2021: Reveal Trailer | PS5

 

PlayStation Showcase 2021 [ENGLISH]

 

The MATRIX 4

 

thechoiceisyours.whatisthematrix.com

Plans for $400-billion new city in the American desert unveiled - CNN (CNN.com)

 

Written by Oscar Holland, CNN

The cleanliness of Tokyo, the diversity of New York and the social services of Stockholm: Billionaire Marc Lore has outlined his vision for a 5-million-person "new city in America" and appointed a world-famous architect to design it.

Now, he just needs somewhere to build it -- and $400 billion in funding.

The former Walmart executive last week unveiled plans for Telosa, a sustainable metropolis that he hopes to create, from scratch, in the American desert. The ambitious 150,000-acre proposal promises eco-friendly architecture, sustainable energy production and a purportedly drought-resistant water system. A so-called "15-minute city design" will allow residents to access their workplaces, schools and amenities within a quarter-hour commute of their homes.

Although planners are still scouting for locations, possible targets include Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Texas and the Appalachian region, according to the project's official website (https://cityoftelosa.com/)

The announcement was accompanied by a series of digital renderings by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the architecture firm hired to bring Lore's utopian dream to life. The images show residential buildings covered with greenery and imagined residents enjoying abundant open space. With fossil-fuel-powered vehicles banned in the city, autonomous vehicles are pictured traveling down sun-lit streets alongside scooters and pedestrians.

Another image depicts a proposed skyscraper, dubbed Equitism Tower, which is described as "a beacon for the city." The building features elevated water storage, aeroponic farms and an energy-producing photovoltaic roof that allow it to "share and distribute all it produces."

The first phase of construction, which would accommodate 50,000 residents across 1,500 acres, comes with an estimated cost of $25 billion. The whole project would be expected to exceed $400 billion, with the city reaching its target population of 5 million within 40 years.

Funding will come from "various sources," project organizers said, including private investors, philanthropists, federal and state grants, and economic development subsidies. Planners hope to approach state officials "very soon," with a view to welcoming the first residents by 2030.

A new urban model

In addition to innovative urban design, the project also promises transparent governance and what it calls a "new model for society." Taking its name from the ancient Greek word "telos" (a term used by the philosopher Aristotle to describe an inherent or higher purpose), the city would allow residents to "participate in the decision-making and budgeting process." A community endowment will meanwhile offer residents shared ownership of the land.

In a promotional video, Lore described his proposal as the "most open, most fair and most inclusive city in the world."

Lore founded jet.com before selling it to Walmart and joining the retail giant as head of US e-commerce in 2016. He left the company earlier this year, saying that his retirement plans included working on a reality TV show, advising startups and building a "city of the future."

On Telosa's official website, Lore explains that he was inspired by American economist and social theorist Henry George. The investor cites capitalism's "significant flaws," attributing many of them to "the land ownership model that America was built on."

"Cities that have been built to date from scratch are more like real estate projects," Lore said in a promotional video for the project. "They don't start with people at the center. Because if you started with people at the center, you would immediately think, 'OK, what's the mission and what are the values?'

"The mission of Telosa is to create a more equitable and sustainable future. That's our North Star."

BIG's founder, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, is meanwhile quoted as saying that Telosa "embodies the social and environmental care of Scandinavian culture, and the freedom and opportunity of a more American culture."

It is not the first new city being planned by Ingels' firm, which famously installed a ski slope on top of a Copenhagen power plant and has co-designed Google's new headquarters in London and California. In January 2020, Japanese carmaker Toyota revealed that it had commissioned BIG to create a master plan for a new 2,000-person city in the foothills of Mount Fuji. Although significantly smaller than Telosa, the project, dubbed Woven City, promises autonomous vehicle testing, smart technology and robot-assisted living.

Thoughts on Shang-Chi from a Viewer Who Knows Chinese Culture - BLEEDING COOL (bleedingcool.com)

 

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Adi Tantimedh

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is fun. It deserves all the raves and box office it gets. You should see it, but only if it's safe since no movie is worth catching a deadly virus for. This is not a review; we already have one here and here.  These are some thoughts from a viewer who knows Chinese culture as they watched it.

Warning: heavy spoilers. You should definitely see the movie first before you read what's below.

Bamboo forest scenes are referenced from Zhang Yimou's HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Kung fu duels where the fighters fall in love – as indicated when they cut to the fighters staring into each other's eyes in swooning slow motion – is a trope established by directors like Tsui Hark in 80s and 90s martial arts movies and continues today in Chinese movies and TV shows. Directors like Wong Kar-Wai did that with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Zhang Ziyi in The Grandmaster. 

Xu Wenwu's (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) fight style seems to be adapted from Chinese boxing, which is a martial art, all brutal strength, and punches. Shang-Chi's mother (Fala Chen) and aunt (Michelle Yeoh) fight using a form of Tai Chi. You see old Chinese people practising a non-combat version of those moves in the morning in Chinatown parks.

Tony Leung spoke Mandarin with a Cantonese accent because he's not a Mandarin speaker. He probably had to use a Mandarin dialect coach.

It's a relief they cast Simu Liu. The list of actors in North America who can speak Mandarin or Cantonese natively is depressingly short.

They've chosen the Chinese word for the "chi" in Shang-Chi's name to mean "breath", "gas" or "energy". That's apt for him becoming a kung fu master.

Nice to see Tsai Chin in a cameo as Katy's (Awkwafina) grandmother. Cute joke about paper replica offerings to deceased relatives in the afterlife.

Michelle Yeoh and Ronnie Cheng both spoke Mandarin with a Malaysian accent. She's not a native Mandarin speaker either. Ronnie Cheng would have learned Mandarin back in school.

The Protector is referred to in Mandarin as "The Dragon God". Wonder why they don't call it that in English. To avoid offending American Bible-thumpers?

Plot is a decent pastiche of the 80s and 90s Hong Kong kung fu movies. Lots of Tsui Hark influences. It's really an Asian-American pastiche and homage to 70s Shaw Brothers movies and 80s Hong Kong martial arts movies. Marvel really does absorb all genres for itself.

Katy taking the car out for a joyride references Ferris Bueller's Day Out.

The bus fight and scaffolding fight are influenced by Jackie Chan movies. Brad Allen, the fight choreographer and 2nd Unit Director, trained under Jackie Chan in the 90s.

Xialing's weapon of choice is the rope-dagger. Cool.

Lots of other little details that go uncommented on: Katy lives with her parents. "Shaun" lives in a dinghy basement studio, probably off-the-books where he pays his landlords in cash because he's in hiding. Neither of them could afford an apartment in San Francisco, though it's implied that as a trained assassin, he would have money hidden away for emergencies. Hence able to afford a plane ticket to Macau. Also means he probably has a fake passport.

We wondered how Shang-Chi and his sister would speak English with American accents, but that can be explained: their English tutor must have been an American recruit to the 10 Rings. But Xialing's child actress spoke with a stronger American accent than the grown-up Meng'er Zhang, who's not American-born. That can be explained: when she ran away from home and went to Macao, she would lose the American accent in the next 10 years.

Questioning of Confucian values, especially its patriarchal sexism through daddy issues. This is actually a common theme in Jin Yong's wuxia novels, which are finally getting translated into English. Daddy issues are already a very American thing, so it suits Marvel to a 'T'.

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai's Wenwu is sort of a metacommentary or pastiche of his past roles: the romantic-but-evil WWII collaborator in LUST, CAUTION, the heartbroken husband in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, the stoical, unbeatable Ip Man in THE GRANDMASTER. If you haven't seen those movies, you should.

The dinner scene where Wenwu explains to Katy that their names connect them to their families and ancestors, yet he doesn't mention his family name, only his given name. Katy also only gives her given name and not her family name. That's odd since every Chinese person would give their full family and given names in conversation, especially one like this.

Shang-Chi's family name is only mentioned once in the whole movie when he introduces himself to Ta Long, his mother's village.

Awkwafina doesn't even attempt to speak any Chinese. She represents Asian-Americans who don't speak their parents' native dialects, often because they weren't taught. When she tells Wenwu what her Chinese name is, he dismisses her, because he's an asshole.

The Brits among us think Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), the former fake Mandarin, was named after Tony Slattery, a beloved British comedian from the 1980s and 90s who's largely left the industry.

Asian-American themes: young slackers finding their identity and purpose in life. Son dealing with getting out of disappointed father's shadow, anxiety of returning to the motherland and facing family.

That BMW Range Rover was such a blatant piece of product placement. I'm sure Disney was paid a decent fee to offset the budget.

Hey, there are 9-tailed foxes in Ta Long village. Those did originate in Chinese mythology, though anime fans now know them from Naruto.

This is an Asian story, so of course, there's a Dai Kaiju battle in the climax. Granted, Kaiju movies are a Japanese genre, but who doesn't want to see a Dai Kaiju battle? A demon that eats souls is Buddhist Horror – souls consumed are lost forever, with no chance for reincarnation.

The demonic kaiju is a pastiche of Lovecraftian ancient horror with Asian demonic creatures, a very American combination, like hybrid recipes. Hey, General Tso's Chicken is an American invention, after all, it didn't come from China. Shang-Chi gets to ride a giant dragon. Of course, he does.

Why didn't Xialing get 5 of the 10 rings at the end instead of Shang-Chi getting all 10? That would have been much more satisfying and right. Instead, they make her power-hungry.

This is not a Chinese movie. It's an Asian-American movie. The perspective is Asian-American, which has its own nuances.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now out in theatres only.

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