NC Comicon with John and Carole Barrowman

November 15 & 16, at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham, NC, hundreds of fans gathered together to celebrate a universal love of comics, tv shows, movies, and more at NC Comicon!  We were among those hundreds and we loved every minute of our time there!

This year, the featured guests were none other than John Barrowman (Doctor Who, Arrow, Torchwood) and his sister, Carole (author, with her brother, of Bone Quill, and Hollow Earth among others).  Saturday of the con began with a Q&A with John Barrowman.  He was filming in Vancouver the night before up until the time of his flight and arrived at the convention center just in time to start the session.  Dashing out onto the stage with luggage in tow, he began a hilarious and sincere hour of question and answer with fans.  He answered questions from his favorite color (asked by a 3 year old girl; it's Blue) to his advice for aspiring actors (don't do it unless your serious about it, and be trained in your craft). He didn't uphold his tradition of the pants drop (remember he was fresh off the plane) but he followed through and did the deed at his Sunday session, and upon request we got to hear his Scottish accent.  At the Sunday session we also learned who were the biggest stars they had in their cell phone which led to John ringing David Tennant. He's quite an entertainer!

He did a picture session with fans who had purchased tickets and he and Carole did autograph signings multiple times throughout the weekend.  They are both so gracious and great people! At one point during the photo session John whistled to quite down the crowd and asked people to please organize themselves in a better manner to avoid traffic jams in the hallway.  He had a conversation with everyone who came up to get an autograph and it didn't feel as rushed as many convention lines can.

The day consisted of many wonderful panels including how comics are conceptualized and brought to life, artist roundtables, and our personal favorite, a writing workshop with Carole Barrowman.   She gave an excellent 45 minute workshop about how to improve your writing, and it was a privilege to learn from her.  She made some excellent points, the main takeaway of which was to make sure that your writing has energy. She made the workshop interactive and captivating. We wish Carole was our English professor!

The dealer's room was filled with stalls of comic books, action figures, drawings, posters, and anything else you'd want or expect to see at a comic book convention.  We really enjoyed that the focus was actually on comic books, as some conventions have a poor selection of vendors and focus on other aspects than comics. Towards the end of the day Saturday evening  John and Carole came into the dealer's room to shop for comics.

Carole and John shopping for Comic Books

Throughout the entire weekend, Artist's Alley was filled with amazingly talented people selling prints, hairbands, jewelry boxes, drawstring bags, exclusive comic books, and so much more.  We had the pleasure of meeting Chris McJunkin, a freelance illustrator who is currently working on Zero's Heroes for New Haven Comics.  He had some amazing pieces for sale, including some Doctor Who and Star Wars pieces.  We also had a chance to speak with Kelly Yates, an artist best known for his work on Doctor Who comics at IDW.  He told an awesome story about one particular piece he did featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy and Rory.  The goal of the piece was to combine all the Doctors in one image; BBC was concerned about doing so, but they loved his piece so much that they approved it the minute they saw it.  

                                    

 

One of the greatest things about being a part of this amazing community of fans is that giving back is a big part of who we are and what we do.  Throughout the weekend, we encountered many artists who were giving some of their proceeds to charities.  The 501st Legion had a raffle to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  The grand prize included books, shirts, artwork, comics, action figures, and few other Star Wars trinkets.  Many vendors were donating a portion of their profits to charities of their choice, including one vendor who donated half of his proceeds to Wounded Warrior Project.  He had many tin signs, featuring some favorite comic book heroes.  

Comic conventions are one of the best places to see cosplayers, including many quality costumes. Throughout the entire weekend, we saw many Doctors, several Jack Harknesses, a bunch of Wonder Women, a baby Spider-Man, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. We even saw the Tenth Doctor walking K-9!

The Doctor walking K-9!

                                        

Overall, NC Comicon was a terrific weekend!  As mentioned before, this was a comicon that truly focused on the comics, with a splash of television and film.  With a unique collection of venders, artists, guests, cosplayers, and visitors, it's no wonder that NC Comicon is one of the best in the state.  If you are ever given the opportunity to go, you will not be sorry.

NC Comicon: Facebook | Twitter | Website

John Barrowman: Facebook | Twitter | Website 

Questions Answered: George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin was the guest of honor at  Con Carolinas in Charlotte, NC.  He met many adoring fans, read from his upcoming book The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros, and answered many stirring questions.

George R.R. Martin has been a full-time writer for more than 30 years and has worked in television as a Story Editor, Executive Story Consultant, Producer, and Co-Supervising Producer among other roles.  He is a New York Times Bestselling author and his work has garnered a multitude of awards and honors.  With all his success, one may think he would take to being reclusive and distant from his fans, but quite the opposite is true.  In the autograph signings he was personable and funny, on one instance a family set their child on the table to keep from having to hold him and jokingly Martin responded "Whoa, I don't sign babies!"


In the reading he was able to bring the story to life and hold the audience's attention for a full hour and a half which is doubly impressive considering that he was reading from a history book, albeit a fictional one, as opposed to a novel.  You can read the sample chapter from his upcoming book, The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros, here.

As a part of the question and answer event, Martin answered fan questions which ranged from why he wrote a character the way he did to what we can expect in the future. Many questions he could not fully answer because he can't give away anything that is in the books or will be in future books, but the questions he did answer gave insight into his process, writing decisions, and other aspects of the world of Westeros.

When asked about the way we are supposed to view or feel about Elia Martell (is there more to her than we have seen so far), Martin responded "One of the things I learned from Jack Vance, he made his secondary and tertiary characters come to life and actual people of realm, I try to keep that in mind when writing my character.  I try to give all of my characters an internal life even if they only appear in a few scenes, and try to see the world through their eyes for that period of time." He also tried to explain that he cannot control what happens on the television show, and therefore cannot explain what will come next as it often differs, at least partially, from what is in the books.

He was asked why he chooses to use songs and bards so prominently in his books, and if we can expect to see more of them in the future.  His answer was that Tolkien used songs and bards in his works, and he enjoyed the way that they fit the story.  He also added that "they don't have television in Westeros... and bards fulfilled a function in society.  They are the source of legends and myths.  They spread tales from castle to castle and realm to realm, and they help to unite people together." He also spoke to his poor treatement of bards in the book and the power they carry in their role as bards and singers.  He goes on to mention that he enjoys hearing the words that we wrote set to music and sung in the television show and at conventions because having only written the lyrics it would be possible that they would not work set to music.

Some of the questions were more comical including one from a teenage girl asking why he made Joffrey "such a hateable character" to which he responded "He's a thirteen year old boy! Do you know any thirteen year old boys?"

A very interesting question was how he is able to keep track of his world building, as they are very extensive and ever expanding worlds that he has created.  In response he said: "I use my brain.  My brain is rapidly being filled though.  I do have to refresh myself from time to time if I am away from it for awhile... The hardest thing to keep track of is that by now every character is separate and has their own cast of secondary and tertiary characters.  A lot of it I know and sometimes I think there's something wrong with me because what I don't know is all of your names.  I'm using brain synapses that other people use for real people for made up people."

He is an eloquent and entertaining speaker, and as such an accomplished writer he has a lot to offer.  If you ever have the chance to see him speak or meet him you should not hesitate to take the opportunity.

George R.R. Martin's Website | Blog

Update: Another example of Martin's dedication to his fans, and to causes that he cares about, is his recent Prizeo campaign which fans flocked to in droves! You can donate today and get a reward for your donation while also entering to win a trip to go with George RR Martin to a wolf sanctuary! Check out the campaign here.