web
counter
 

What's a Nubian?

By Steven Lloyd Wilson | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (21)



kristen-bell-leias-gold-bikini.jpg

Ah Comic-Con. It’s a few hundred thousand geeks packed into a convention center the size of a few football fields. The convention floor itself is a beehive of booths, some little more than a folding table and a sharpie drawn logo, some sprawling affairs erected by corporate giants with life size mechs and twenty foot big screens. It’s not just about comics, though those have always been the centerpiece. There’s a lot of science fiction and fantasy, certainly a lot centered on the spandex-clad genres, but what ties together all the indie comics, small publishers, and corporate giants is not a particular theme or even a particular demographic. The beating heart underneath all the disparate trappings of geekdom crammed into this place is the act of creation. From the corporatized slick presentations of new video games, to the Wacom sketched webcomics, to the hand drawn anime, and even to the Twilight fan fic gathering, the unifying impulse is “look what I made.”

It used to be a small affair, really something that artists went to in order to look at each others’ stuff. Where the big comic book companies announced their new titles. Where fans gathered in panels and meeting rooms to hash out the philosophy of Star Trek or the best techniques for drawing realistic musculature. Then the really big companies started moving in, Sony and NBC and the rest reserving the cavernous Hall H to debut trailers and footage for upcoming features. It didn’t sell out so much as it made room at the table for the popular kids who realized that the geek’s table was kind of the coolest one in the cafeteria.

Most coverage of Comic-Con tends to focus on reporters going to those big halls and then typing up what they see on the screen. It’s sort of a silly exercise, this describing what happens in a trailer or video clip. Look, either the trailer is going to be released online and you can see it yourself, or it’s not. But either way, a reporter describing to you how it looked is sort of pointless. It’s like listening to a friend tell you about a movie they saw: well then this happened, and then this happened, and it looked so cool …

So the point of this long-winded diatribe on Comic-Con is simply the announcement that Prisco and I will be there this year. And we will be trying very hard not to just tell you how cool the trailers looked.









Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance



A Gold Digger Can't Catch a Break | Celebrities Are Better Than You | Our Public Education System is Broken; We're Failing Our Kids | "Waiting for Superman" Trailer









Comments

Sweet. I eagerly look forward to your reports.

I'm heading to GenCon in a few weeks. It's like ComiCon's far geekier cousin who lives in the Midwest. I wont be reporting on anything, because there's really nothing to report about. Unless, of course, you people really want to hear about the exploits of my 8th level fighter in our D&D campaign or whether my high school football coach will survive another session of our "All Flesh Must Be Eaten" zombie apocalypse campaign. Yeah, I didn't think so.

That said, Felecia Day will be there this year. Unfortunately for sweet, delightful Felecia (and probably shocking to all of you), I am married to a beautiful, awesome woman, so, Felecia's weekend in Indy is likely going to be full of heart ache. Oh, and Wil Wheaton will be there too.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 21, 2010 3:35 PM

As long as it's not like pseudo-Mr. vB's brother's 45-minute descriptions of 1/2 hour teevee shows, we're good.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 21, 2010 3:37 PM

Say what you will about George Lucas, but the world would be a much sadder place without Leia's gold bikini.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at July 21, 2010 3:39 PM

But how am I going to know if I'm supposed to like something if you won't tell me if it's cool, SLW? I spend damn good money in this place and I expect services to be rendered.

Posted by: admin at July 21, 2010 3:58 PM

Looking forward to hearing from you guys about it.

Posted by: Drake at July 21, 2010 4:18 PM

I was at the Con last year. All the coverage for this year's event is breaking my poor, geeky heart.

Next year, though? Already begun making plans for my glorious return!

Posted by: malikvlc at July 21, 2010 4:26 PM

Awww, come on, there's sooooo many amateur Leias out there that look so much better.

Posted by: Jay at July 21, 2010 4:34 PM

First year since 2002 I haven't gone. My friends and I absolutely did not appreciate the importance of buying our registrations early and missed out.

On the one hand, I'll miss being there and miss my friends greatly - many of them I only see this weekend.

On the other hand: Damn you Hall H. Ever since you opened you've been bringing the douchebags to the uncool kids' table and I'll never forgive you for it.

For all of you who vehemently hate Jack Black. Yep. This is HIS fault too. That "Tenacious D" concert a few years ago REALLY got the ball rolling on this debacle.

Posted by: lubeg at July 21, 2010 4:40 PM

What is a Nubian? It's a breed of goat. I've herding breed dogs, so
there's that fact for ya.

Word was this past year that there is (was) a big FB campaign to bring the
Con up to Anaheim (right across the street from Disneyland). That it had
pretty much outgrown the Conv Center space down there. Last I heard,
that idea went down in flamess. Besides, the local 'nightlife' around here
(I live about 6 mi from DL) is crap. Doesn't hold a candle to the Gaslamp District, reliable public transpo and the ocean just a scant few miles away.

I've never been to the event. Can't wait to get the report here.

Posted by: Ms MoMo at July 21, 2010 4:48 PM

I live right uptown and just didn't get around to getting tickets, not that I could really afford to, but still. I think I might just hang around down town to check out the various costumed entities, because why not?

I look forward to a Pajibized review of the goings on within the con itself.

Posted by: thenchonto at July 21, 2010 6:50 PM

I used to go to Gen-Con when it was in Milwaukee... :-/ I met Gary Lockwood from 2001 there... And, Mr. Colt .45 himself, Billy Dee Williams.

Posted by: Drew Morton at July 21, 2010 6:52 PM

Drew, I was at that GenCon too. I miss Milwaukee. It has a lot more character than Indy. I've been to every GenCon, but I think 2, since '96. Because I'm cool like that.

The star power has been wratched down a bit over the last few years. No more icons like Billy Dee.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 21, 2010 7:28 PM

What is a Nubian? It's a breed of goat. I've herding breed dogs, so
there's that fact for ya.

In film and fiction circles, "nubian" is generally used to describe dark-skinned people, as in, people who look like they might be from the Egyptian area called Nubia. Most often used for hot ladies of the black persuasion. Urban Dictionary describes Nubian Queen as "a woman of negroid descent". Mel Gibson could probably tell you all about it.

Posted by: Uriah Creep at July 21, 2010 9:39 PM

...and now I love Uriah Creep.

For several reasons.

But mostly for "Mel Gibson could probably tell you all about it."

/scene.

Posted by: RestInPeace at July 21, 2010 11:21 PM

Forbidden,

I think that was, fittingly enough, 2001 when I was there last. Isn't it in Indianapolis now?

Posted by: Drew Morton at July 22, 2010 12:51 AM

I miss GenCon Milwaukee too, yet I make the trek to Indy every year with friends.

Favorite celebrity encounter there: asking David Carradine for a photo and pissing him off somehow. If looks could kill ...

Runner up: seeing Ernie Hudson emerge from the men's room in full Ghostbusters costume.

Posted by: ReverendK at July 22, 2010 1:25 AM

You had me at "What's a Nubian?" Chasing Amy is a classic.

Posted by: EJ at July 22, 2010 5:34 AM

I've no patience for crowds & lines, & I won't spend my money on toys & comics. But I always wish I could go to SDCC. Semi-hot chicks in nerdy cosplay, that's what I'm about. Nah baby, LEAVE THE COSTUME ON

Posted by: the new transported man at July 22, 2010 8:32 AM

Drew, it is in Indy now. I forget exactly when they moved it. I think it might have been in 2003 or so?

Apparently, the Con "out grew" Milwaukee. There just wasn't enough hotel space to accomodate everyone. Indy is essentially a convention town. The downtown area is nice and all, but it's like one big outdoor mall. It really lacks the character of Milwaukee.

I really miss Major Goolsby's in Milwaukee. It was an excellent nearby watering hole. The Champps across from the Indy convention center just doesn't have the same feel to it.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 22, 2010 9:47 AM

I still break out in hives at the memory of the Twihards at the last ComicCon. I was trying to get into Hall H for another trailer and got damn near trampled.

Also: Forbiddendonut -- I challenge you to a donut-off, to determine the Pajiban most worthy of using donuts in their title. Krispy Kreme only -- that way everyone wins!

Posted by: Donut Plains at July 22, 2010 10:15 AM

All right, Donut Plains... It's on!

*lowers into a crouch and begins to circle Donut Plains, snaping his fingers rhythmically*

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 22, 2010 10:49 AM