Motor City Comic Con… Needs Comics Badly.

So it has been a week, and I promised that I would give a little bit of a run down on the 2012 Motor City Comic Con.

So, here goes.

Not only did I have a fun time at the con, but I also learned a few things.

The first is that I should not be allowed to enter a con with much money. I had a budget of under $100 to cover all of my expenses for the con… And to my utter shock, I spent less than $80 while at the convention, with the main expense being the entry fee.

My big thing was getting to meet for the 3^rd time, Tom Savini. He is only the true undisputed master of creature effects and such an innovator in the medium that we can thank him as being a great creative force that would lead to us having the Walking Dead.

Now to say that this was a major markout moment for me was nothing short of right on the money.

Mr.  Savini is the man that also mentored the amazing Greg Nicotero (Walkng Dead) and not only did the effects for George A Romero on Dawn, Day, Night (1990 in which he also directed) and other films like Martin. But this man is also known for his role as Sex Machine in From Dusk Till Dawn, and is the man that created the legendary character Jason Voorhese.

For those that are not familiar with THE GOD OF ZOMBIE MAKEUP… the following Wiki will answer your questions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Savini

So, other than that big moment, I was enjoying the con… having an interesting time… but there was something that really stood out that an old buddy of mine from the comic shop days pointed out.

The Motor City Comic Con was really more of an exercise in Cosplay, Pop Culture, and meeting not only some Movie and TV people… but not having much of a chance to really see comics artists and creators. All in all this con came off as being more like a big ass swap meet.

This is not good in the grand scheme of things, as shows like C2E2 in Chicago, the Wizard World cons, and Comic Con in California make Motor City Comic Con, fall all on it’s arse.

And as crappy as this sounds, when Angry Dwarf Studios launches and goes into production… Motor City will be the “Home Con” for us… Yet at the same time, even then… Will the people running the con really be able to do the impossible and get some comics creators to really come in and step up the con?

There is a 2nd con that happens downtown in Detroit called Detroit Fan Fare: http://www.detroitfanfare.com and is billed as the FIRST Comic Con in Downtown since 1975.

If this is indeed the case, then will the Motor City Comic Con end up evaporating?

Now I know what you are saying to yourself, “who cares, there in now two cons.”

True… but Motor City Comic Con while at one time being the 4th largest comic con in North America, never went away.

Detroit Fan Fare is a show that has sprang up with the sudden boom in nerd core culture.  And at this same time… how funny would it be if the New Con in town were to take over the spot of the place to be?

I guess that is the question.

You see, I was of this notion that a comic convention was supposed to be about comcis, and the artists that make them. Not about just whomever you can dig up from previous Sci-Fi shows and a couple of somewhat relevant actors and actresses to see if whither or not you can get them enough on the cheap to come to the con so that you can sell your comics and stuff as a vendor as well as a promoter.

And this is where the inherent problem is Motor City Comic Con is that it is run by the owners of Motor City Comics. Can you say conflict of interest much.

So here is a call to action that I am sure you all will get behind.

Send suggestions of creators you would love to see at the next Motor City Comic Con to suggestions@motorcitycomiccon.com

Either way, I know that we have so much more to do before we get to set up shop in the Creator’s Row at a comic con… so I am proposing that artists that are not already doing something for comics, and send me your art work samples via my Facebook:  www.facebook.com/wessgrigg and also follow me on Twitter @thewessgrigg and we will talk.

 

Now this too is awesome.

One of the most epic Batman moments of all time:

Changes, Changes, Changes…

Looks like that the inevitable has finally happened… I have rejoined the Dork-Side so to speak.

I am now in a point and position, to where I am now fully switching my blog here over to a more Comics, Movies, Music, Pop Culture friendly experience… Meaning that my ranting and raves about Geo-Politics are going to take a back seat for a while.

I have decided to write about things that I feel are less likely to be misquoted, or need tons and tons of notes to write about as well… I don’t get paid for this stuff, and honestly, I have enough things going on that will lead to ulcers and the occasional fit. Plus it is so draining to write about that stuff all of the time.

So, I am putting down my tin foil hat, and taking a good long look at what I can write about… and Nerd stuff is what I seem to enjoy the most.

So, you can follow me on Twitter @thewessgrigg and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/wessgrigg to join in the fun there and here.

My next update will come this weekend, and will be some fun coverage of the Motor City Comic Con.

A response: Ted Nugent should be in jail? Part One

First the article itself: 

Editor’s note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter:@locs_n_laughs.

Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) – Ted Nugent should be arrested.

Not because he doesn’t like Barack Obama but because he got up in front of a group of people and insinuated he would attempt to assassinate Obama if he’s re-elected. Or let’s put it this way: A man with a truckload of guns has threatened the life of our president while the country’s at war.

Nugent’s words were: “If Barack Obama is elected, I’ll either be dead or in jail this time next year,” which sounds to me like he’s open to directing his disapproval of Obama in a way that is violent and unlawful. When you see that statement next to Nugent comparing Obama and his colleagues to coyotes that needed to be shot, as well as the need to “ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November,” I don’t see how that rant cannot be looked upon as a threat on the president’s life.

I don’t care how you feel about Nugent’s music or Obama’s policies, it seems that if there were a First Amendment line to cross, that would be it. And yet, the reality is the Secret Service will spend a little time investigating Nugent, determine he’s not a true threat, and move on. If the Supreme Court can rule in favor of an 18-year-old man who, in voicing his opposition to being drafted for the Vietnam War, said: “If they ever make me carry a rifle the first man I want to get in my sights is LBJ,” then it’s doubtful anything is going to happen to Nugent.

LZ Granderson

At least anything involving jail time.

People are still free to organize boycotts and express disapproval. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech but it cannot insulate folks against the social and cultural repercussions that come from saying something offensive.

Nugent should be in jail. But he’s just a piece of low-hanging fruit. We already know he’s a wild man who makes inflammatory remarks to stay relevant. We also know he’s not the only media figure who shocks for a living.

The bigger question is why is it OK to say you’re going to kill the president, and by OK, I mean legal?

True, because President Obama is black he has attracted a unique breed of critics, such as Walter Bagdasarian, who in 2008 was arrested but later set free after posting ”Re: Obama fk the n****r, he will a .50 cal in the head soon” on a Yahoo message board. He also posted “Shoot the n*g.”

Obama is hardly the only president to have a U.S. citizen publicly threaten his life. And yet, like Bagdasarian, the people issuing the threats are protected under a law that yanks the teeth out of another law, one that makes it a felony to threaten a president or major presidential candidate with death or bodily harm. In order to get a jail sentence to stick, prosecutors must prove the individual has made plans to carry out such a threat. So even though law enforcement found a .50 caliber muzzle-loading rifle in Bagdasarian’s home — the kind of bullet he said would soon be in Obama’s head — that wasn’t enough to keep him in jail.

I don’t know about you, but I find that to be a bit unsettling, especially nowadays, when we have almost as many guns in the U.S. as we do people — the highest rate of any country in the world of civilian gun ownership. Forty-nine states allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons outside of their home for protection, including in some cases, bars. Who needs a plan when you can be ticked off, get liquored up and then go attend a rally?

I’m not anti-gun.

I’m pro- America.

Allowing people to threaten the life of a president, particularly during time of war, is not protecting free speech as much as it is dangerously close to treason as it is defined in Article III of the Constitution. We have an agreed-upon system to replace elected officials we don’t like. It’s called democracy. If people don’t like the president, they can say that. They can vote against them. They can run. They can leave. But they shouldn’t be allowed to go on the Internet or radio and threaten his or her life. I felt that way about George W. Bush, I feel that way about President Obama, and I will feel that way if Mitt Romney gets elected.

That’s because this conversation isn’t about them or the parties they represent. It’s about maintaining some level of respect for the office. How can we begin to talk seriously about “restoring America”– whatever that means — when we openly threaten the life of our chief ambassador?

U.S. Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were all assassinated. Six U.S. presidents survived assassination attempts.

I’m not surprised to hear such comments from Nugent. But I am surprised that in a country with 106 million handguns, 105 million rifles, 83 million shotguns and four assassinated presidents, we don’t take such talk more seriously.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, my response:

While perusing CNN.com while having some downtime from my job, I was startled for an article that called for the arrest of Ted Nugent.

Now don’t get me wrong… I am not a fan really of “The Motor City Madman”, whither it be his music, or many of his political views… but one needs to understand a couple of things.

Firstly, you are correct in assuming that he is a media figure that needs to find a way to be relevant. However you are incorrect in saying that this is such an outlandish thing for him to have said.

In this era of more and more shock being thrown out into the public eye, it is easy to forget that (as you did point out)  it is not totally legal to threaten the life of the President… but did Nugent really threaten the President?

He never out and out said that he would attempt anything, and nor did he state that he was threatening to do so. Furthermore, he also never once stated that he would support an act to do so.

Secondly, Nugent’s words were: “If Barack Obama is elected, I’ll either be dead or in jail this time next year,”.

Now… considering that this current president did in fact sign into law N.D.A.A. and has been pushing for expansion of presidential powers, has had his Secretary of Defense pretty much tell Congress that the President will get permission from the United Nations to declare war on other nations around the world.

Truthfully,  we must remember that the First Amendment is the second most important Amendment behind the Second Amendment, as it is the Second Amendment that will ensure that the First will remain.

But what disturbs me the most about this truthfully is when a journalist such as yourself would call for someone being arrested based on what they had said.

You are beginning to trudge into very dangerous waters here, and in all truth, it should be also further stated, that the very words said by many of the founding fathers of this country would have them flagged as terrorists by their own government today.

More Tomorrow.

Well… Couple Thoughts

Working on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Not thrilled, but at the same time, I have got to do what I must to keep the ability to eat, put gas in my truck, and keep the rain off my head.

Had the chance to visit with my old friend Katie Starks. I wish the circumstances of our seeing one another was better, but sometimes it takes major things happening in order to realize that there are some people that will drift in and out of your life, but they never leave totally. I love you “Lass”, and will be there for you if you need.

I am working on a new book, that will take on a different role for me. As many of you fair readers know, I write horror, sci-fi, and fantasy… but for once I am writing something a bit more with the times.

Stay tuned… and get the foil ready. 

Invisible Empire: A New World Order Defined

This is what I rage about…

When the President Can Kill Whomever He Wants

Some free floating thoughts…

It has been a little while since I posted here, and for that I do resolve to be more active with the posting and writing.

With all of that said, I have also decided to possibly publish some of my short stories and other assorted articles here as well, with both the goal of staying creative, but to also make a chronicle of the things that I think about.

I know that I will also be posting things that are also seen on other places of the internet.

So let us begin, shall we?

Jeff Buckley is still to this day, underrated, and to a degree forgotten by many in the world of music… but the real musicians and thinkers of this day and age, still remember this fine poet of the satisfied mind. His track “New Years Prayer” is still haunting, and gives me goosebumps every time that I hear it.  And this track here is very awesome, just saying:

Don’t know when the change really happened, but what is the story with the sudden love of all things nerdy? It seems to me that the world of culture here in the USA is going in two different directions… Geeks vs Douchebags.

Closed circuit to the douche bags out there… Tap Out clothing is the equivallent of wearing a sandwich board saying that you wear Axe, say the word Bro to damn much, and most likely can’t win a real fight.

Patton Oswalt has quickly become one of my favorite stand up comedians. His timing and love of the nerd core culture has very much won me over… and he rants like so:

And come to think of it… I guess the real things that I want to talk about I will do so at a later time… I need to go to Black Angus