The Camden Comic Con 2017

Next Saturday, April 8th, 2017, the place to be will be Rutgers University in Camden NJ, because it's Camden Comic Con time. I've done my time at comics conventions in Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore, and I've even gone to those sad little hotel ballroom comics shows, so you know I know this field, so let me tell you, the Camden Comic Con is the best.

Run by Bill Haas and Miranda Powell, among others, this show rules. This will be its fourth year, and my fourth year attending and participating. My partner in The GAR! Podcast, Ray Cornwall and I have been there every year recording during the show and witnessing the fun and the cool as it happens. This year we'll be doing the same, and even moderating a panel as well. In all my time podcasting and convention going, this event is my favorite. Besides our recording during the event, there is also a strong presence at the show of Biff Bam Pop! and the South Jersey Writers' Group. Look sharp!

You can find out more about the Camden Comic Con right here, or at their Facebook page and Twitter. Guests this year include Larry Hama, Fred Van Lente, Bryan J.L. Glass, Neil Vokes, Diana Leto, Mark Poulton, Dean Haspiel, and others. There will be panels, gaming, cosplay, and even food trucks. Did I mention that it's free? Yeah, baby, free!

You can hear the episodes of The GAR! Podcast recorded at the first three Camden Comic Cons right here.

The New Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

If you listened to The GAR! Podcast's interview with Bryan J.L. Glass at this year's Camden Comic Con, you know how big a fan of Sid and Marty Krofft's "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" I am.

The very short-lived series aired Saturday morning in the disco spandex era of the late 1970s. Though it looked kinda cheap because it was shot on videotape, it was a loving send-up of the camp superhero antics of the 1960s "Batman" TV series, and also had something we just don't have today - female lead protagonists, as Kristin Battestella and I discussed recently on Morning Coffee, more on that here.

Imagine my surprise when this rather unorthodox preview dropped…



The new version will be a digital series from Legendary and star YouTube phenomena Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart in the title roles. Hmmm… we'll just have to wait and see. What do you all think?

The GAR! Podcast at the Camden Comic Con 2015

On March 7th of 2015, The GAR! Podcast recorded episodes live at the Camden Comic Con for its second year in a row. This local comic convention has grown in a very short time to one of the events in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, and is personally the best such event I've ever attended, and that includes shows in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. The Camden Comic Con rocks.

I'm presenting here a compendium of coverage of the Camden Comic Con from both The GAR! Podcast and Biff Bam Pop!, hopefully you'll be able to find what you're looking for.

The first episode featured interviews with Marie Gilbert and Sarah Hawkins-Miduski of both Biff Bam Pop! and the South Jersey Writers' Group. Sarah also wrote a terrific review of the Con here. Our guest for the con, and my old partner on The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast, Allison Eckel, and I also talked about the phenomenon of Batgirl-ing, "Teen Titans Go," and the new TV costume for Supergirl. You can check it out at GAR! here and BBP here.

The second episode featured a very special interview with comic creator and writer Bryan J.L. Glass, who talked about the end and origins of Mice Templar; the craft and passion of writing; the creative philosophies of Robert McKee, Joseph Campbell, and Christopher Nolan; worldbuilding; finding the right ending; and yes, even Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Bryan is a friend, and he rocks. You can check it out at GAR! here and BBP here.

The third episode recorded live at the Camden Comic Con featured an interview with Justin Piatt of Unlikely Heroes Studios about Super!, along with some discussion with guests Allison, her son Thomas, and our official intern Frank Kamina Castle about comics and videogames. You can check it out at GAR! here and BBP here.

The fourth and final episode recorded at the con, and released just yesterday, featured interviews with Mark Poulton, Matthew Catron of Locust Moon Comics, and some cool bathing in the afterglow of the con with organizer Miranda Powell and friend of the show and writer/editor for Pronto Comics, Dennis Knight. Please check out Mark Poulton's Kickstarter. Our guests also talk about what they loved most about the con. You can check it out at GAR! here and BBP here.

And for coverage of the 2014 Camden Comic Con, you can see it here, here, and here. Good times.

The Camden Comic Con

Last Saturday I attended the best comic con I have ever been to - the Camden Comic Con.

You can read my report on the con at Biff Bam Pop! here, or listen to the first of three episodes of The GAR! Podcast recorded live at the con here.

The con, the guests, everything was awesome, I can't wait until next year.