The Steel City Con is great convention in Monroeville, PA. The guests are always quality and the staff is professional. The last few times the convention has grown exponentially and this most recent show was probably the most crowded I have ever seen it. They have recently begun opening up the back room for guests and artists allowing the bigger floor to be filled with vendors. If more people continue to come they may want to start looking for a new venue. In terms of cosplay, there is a contest usually held on Sunday but during all three days there are tons of cosplayers roaming the floor. The level runs from DIY amateur to professional jumped off of the page outfits. Even some of the vendors take part in the fun. I ran into quite a few vendors dressed in cosplay from a Ms. Marvel to Steampunk Ghostbuster to Deadpool. One thing I am starting to see is the popularity of TV shows such as Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. having an impact on the cosplaying. There were countless S.H.E.I.L.D. agents roaming the floor. Another interesting note seemed to be the increase in female cosplaying which do not include scantily clad women or obscure Anima. For example, there were at least 2 women dressed as Agent Carter. It is refreshing seeing these women walk around in confidence in clothes that are not too risqué for a family oriented con. Over at the media guests the biggest lines were for Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), John Schneider and Tom Wopat (Duke Boys), and wrestler Rob Van Dam. Noah Wyle had an enormous line when he arrived later in the day. I heard no complaints in regards to the guests. Everyone appeared very grateful and polite. I was not able...

What a crazy week and what a crazy episode. You’re gonna notice something different about this episode. And probably the next few episodes. We’re, and by “we” I mean everyone but Leonard, been working hard to get this show into your hot little ears. I hope you like it! Links of Note Tampa Bay Comic Con San Antonio Wizard World Charlotte Comic Con Birmingham International Comic Expo Guardians of the Galaxy opens Friday Take the DC Comics Survey Digital Books and Sales Robin 101 Sale Guardians of the Galaxy Trades Archer & Armstrong Sale Annihilation sale Skybound Humble Bundle Transformers Humble Bundle What We Read Last Week Doctor Who 11th Doctor #1 Star Spangled War Stories #1 Saga #21 Daredevil #6 Amazing Spider-Man #4 What We’re Looking Forward to This Week LFC’s Pick Todd’s Pick http://media.blubrry.com/longbox_heroes/longboxheroes.com/_wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/LBH-08.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe:...

San Diego Comic Con is upon us. The Juggernaut of comic book conventions. The one where everything happens. Many people have lamented over less actual comic announcements happening at SDCC with more focus to non-comic related properties (Hello, Twilight!) To me, I’m OK with anything that gets them in the door. Especially now with both Marvel and DC having such heavy presence on TV and the silver screen, there will be tons of those sort of announcements. Where the concern comes in is the actual comic announcements getting overshadowed by all this. Which is why companies like BOOM! and Image went and made their announcements before the convention actually began. So this week question to you is what do you want to see announced at SDCC? A new Star Wars book from Marvel? The return of the pre-52 DC Universe? Official word on what Warner Bros is doing with the DC movie universe? A Moon Knight TV show? Just tweet at us with the hashtag #LBHQuery or if you need more than 140 characters, tell us below and we’ll talk about it all on next week’s...

Recently, at Wizard World Philadelphia, I met Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who played the 11th Doctor and Amy Pond, respectively, on Doctor Who. They had photo ops for sale so I was able to get my photo taken with each of them. I’ve regaled Leonard and our listeners with the full tale in our already classic third Episode “Why Is This Monkey Crying”. Matt and Karen were not the first actors I’ve meet from Doctor Who and hopefully they will not be the last. I’ve met three other people who have had prominent roles on Doctor Who over the years and here are the stories. The first person I ever met from Doctor Who was Colin Baker who was the 6th Doctor. It was at the New York Comic Con in 2009, I think. He was appearing with a Doctor Who retailer that had a table on the show floor instead of being in the autograph area where most actors are. I had a pass that allowed me on the floor before the doors opened up to the general public (since I’m a big shot) so I got to spend some time alone with him. I told him I was a huge Doctor Who fan and he replied “Well, that’s lucky because recently I have become a huge Doctor” gesturing to his body implying he had packed on a few pounds. We talked mostly about the show and how America doesn’t give big enough portions of vegetables in restaurants. Also, he introduced me to the Doctor Who audio dramas on CD that he does for Big Finish now. I bought the first one in the series which also feature the 5th and 7th Doctors. I had him sign it and also sign my Trial...

While I was at Special Edition NYC (see my report here), my friends and I decided to leave the con and get some lunch and then wander over to the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network)  Exhibit on 44th Street. I had heard about it from Leonard and the con was giving out fliers which doubled as coupons for $5 off admission. When we got there we found that they also had the $5 coupons as soon as you come in (I definitely recommend grabbing one of these coupons as an adult admission is $27.00 & a child is $19.50. So depending on how many tickets you are purchasing that could end up being a huge savings). After we got our tickets, we were led downstairs to wait in line. While waiting, you are asked to sign up to be an agent of S.H.I.E.LD. by supplying your name and email address in one of the many machines along the queue. When finished, you receive a card with your name on it which works with many of the interactive exhibits. Also, this was when the staff briefs the new agents about everything available in the exhibit and intel about the Avengers, which really added to the experience. As you’re led in, an Agent stops you, checks your ID and tells you to stand in front of a green screen for the “last civilian picture you will ever take.” Also, you have to do your best superhero pose because the Avengers team will be put in behind you. Then, you are led to a waiting area and yelled at a little – after all you are raw recruits. And by yelled at I mean they give you the rules. The most important of...

This was Denver Comic Con’s 3rd year, but the first one I’ve been able to attend as my better half surprised me with tickets for our anniversary. She’s new to comics, but was excited to learn more with me & see her beloved Power Rangers. To give you a frame of reference, Denver’s first year was pretty small, but last year saw a huge jump in attendance. They weren’t prepared for the spike & just couldn’t handle the lines. This led to horror stories of five hour waits. Luckily this year they figured out line management. Luckily, we got there about an hour before badge exchange. The line was long, but it moved very smoothly. The poor dude in a Punisher costume had to keep reminding his Spider-Kids that there were no places in line to pee. Friday was a lot of fun. We started the day watching a Q&A with the Blue Ranger (David Yost), Black Ranger (Walter Jones) & Lord Zed (Robert Axelrod). The main event room had a crazy echo that made it hard for the panel guests to hear the fans questions, so Yost took matters into his own hands by moving the microphones closer to the stage. They mostly talked about being role models and stuff like that, but I enjoyed the tales of pranks. I guess the Green Ranger (Jason David Frank) really enjoyed ribbing Yost. Heeding Todd’s advice about cons, we took advantage of the small Friday morning crowd to explore the merch area & artist alley. Quite the sensory overload, but we got good recon to plan our weekend. We marked out pretty hard when we sat in the 1960’s Batmobile. It was neat chatting with the owner about the history of the car. Our buddies...

I went to the first New York Special Edition Con. Run by Reed Pop, who do the huge New York Comic Con in October which is basically the east coast San Diego Comic Con. You know MEDIA GUESTS! ANIMIE! VIDEO GAMES! MOVIE NEWS! CON EXCLUSIVES! and some comic stuff. Well, Reed Pop decided to take a page out of the Baltimore Comic Con’s play book and have a con with *gasp* just comic retailers, comic creators, and some publishers. For what it’s worth, here is my take on it. I purchased my ticket months ago when it was announced for $35. It was for Saturday only. Which I didn’t even blink at because The NYCC Saturday pass is $50 and the Wizard World Saturday pass is $55. So all in all, I think it’s not a bad price. My only knock is that a Sunday pass is also $35 and I think it would be better for them if each one day pass was $35 and they had a two day pass option which would give you a discount like other cons for say maybe $50. With ticket in hand and then hanging from my neck on the lanyard they provided, I made my way to the waiting line. It wasn’t a huge waiting line, it was about what I expected and people were happily chatting waiting to be let in to the show floor. As 10 o’clock drew closer, the crowd started a countdown and the staff started letting people in right on time. They handled the crowd quite well and I had no problems. As I walked down the hall to the show floor, I heard the theme to Tim Burton’s Batman blasting. As I got closer, I saw there was a...