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Coronavirus Be Damned! Star Trek: Picard Needs To Be At WonderCon 2020

For convention-going nerds, the Anaheim Convention Center has most notably been recognized as the home of WonderCon. But thanks to the new CBS All Access series, Star Trek: Picard, MANY MORE nerds, now recognize the convention center as Starfleet Headquarters!

In episode two of Star Trek: Picard, when the unmistakable Anaheim Convention Center is prominently displayed during the title character’s visit to Starfleet Headquarters, its enough to cause seasoned WonderCon attendees’ heads to explode, as their fictional and real worlds collided!

Now that the Anaheim Convention Center has entered the collective consciousness as Starfleet Headquarters, Star Trek and WonderCon are forever linked! And as long as the coronavirus doesn’t continue to wreck havoc on pop-culture conventions, the series and the Comic Con organization (which owns WonderCon) are perfectly positioned to promote Star Trek: Picard with a uniquely WonderCon fan experience!

Last year, to promote Star Trek: Picard, CBS All Access held a panel, and set-up a booth & pop-up shop at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). They had props and costumes on display… They had an autograph session with Sir Patrick Stewart… They sold exclusive merchandise… And they gave SWAG, including replicas of the “Visitor Badge” Picard wears during his onscreen visit to WonderCon… “*ahem…” I mean, “Starfleet Headquarters”.

Additionally, on January 23, CBS All Access and the Comic-Con organization hosted a Star Trek: Picard premiere episode viewing at the future site of the Comic-Con Museum, in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
Along with the episode, the streaming service, again brought props and costumes. And similar to the SDCC events, the museum presentation was a SWAG-filled event- with attendees walking away with posters and subscription gift cards!

CBS All Access SWAG from the Star Trek Picard premier at the Comic-Con Museum

These recent events demonstrate an established relationship between CBS All Access and the Comic-Con Organization. Given this relationship, and the recent Anaheim Convention Center connection… a Star Trek: Picard presence at WonderCon is one of life’s EASY, “no-brainers”.

WonderCon takes place April 10-12.
At that time, the last episode of Star Trek: Picard, season one, will have recently been released- making it an ideal time for promoting the show’s binge-worthiness.

Promoting the series, and emphasizing its Anaheim Convention Center connection during WonderCon would definitely be a crowd-pleaser…

Imagine actors in Starfleet uniforms greeting WonderCon attendees, in-character, at the convention entrance, or welcoming visitors to admire props and costumes set-up for display on the exhibit floor…
Imagine SWAG such as an exclusive Fansets pins of the convention center, adorned with the Starfleet Delta…
Imagine a panel featuring casts and other creatives…

Replica of badge worn during Picard’s visit to Starfleet Headquarters (Anaheim Convention Center) given as SWAG at SDCC. This type of immersive SWAG is perfect for WonderCon!

It’d be a travesty if CBS All Access didn’t take advantage of this fortuitous marketing opportunity, and it’s stating the obvious to say…

STAR TREK: PICARD NEEDS TO BE AT WONDERCON!!!

Hopefully, the CBS All Access marketing team recognizes this perfect pairing, and will seize the opportunity to… “Make it so!”

Amazon Debuts Hunters- with Killer LA Afterparty!

“A Nazi revenge series staring Al Pacino”…

That definition alone is enough to pique many people’s curiosity.
And when the new Amazon Prime Video series, Hunters, dropped, February 21, most viewers dove into the series with only the preview teaser as an idea of what to expect… However, those fortunate to attend the amazing immersive experience, “Hunters– With Killer Afterparty”, held at the Los Angeles Highland Theaters and Park Bowl, Feb. 20-23 got SOOOO much more!

Considering the show’s subject matter, the lightheartedness of the immersive experience could have seemed inappropriate. But Hunters isn’t a somber drama… It’s an action-revenge flick in 10 episodes!

In-character actors interacting with attendees made for a fun, immersive experience!

This was made obvious from the in-character actors dressed in period costumes, creating a “fun” ‘70s vibe at the experience. Also, the posters and props scattered inside and outside the theater & bowling alley added to the lighthearted atmosphere.
…And if there was still any questions about the mood of the show, those questions surely disappeared after viewing the first episode.

The premiere viewing, combined with the immersive event made it perfectly clear that viewers are expected to experience as much joy and satisfaction from the Hunters’ revenge, as the hunters themselves!
As a result, attendees of the immersive experience were treated to enough food, entertainment, and SWAG to keep anyone in good spirits!

Hunters- Killer Afterparty SWAG was an embarrassment of riches!!!

The tote bags, t-shirts, and socks… comic books, posters, stickers, and flyers… pizza, cocktails, popcorn, soda, and candy… all enhanced the episode viewing, and immersive experience. But of all the SWAG provided, the six-page, Hunters comic books and balloon stickers were arguably the best of the bunch.

With a story that fleshes-out a seemingly throwaway line mentioned in the first episode, the comic book (digital copy available free on Comixology) is a wink-and-nod bonus for those paying attention. And while all the other SWAG items are “branded” with the Hunters logo, the balloon sticker forgoes branding, and instead feels TRULY immersive, as a recreation of an item that lead character, Jonah, finds among his grandmother’s secret artifacts in the first episode.

Hunters comic SWAG adds to the backstory, while the balloon sticker makes the SWAG recipient feel like part of the *Hunters* Universe….

It’s SWAG like these two items that creates super-fans who feel “invested”, and keep coming back for more!

…and after experiencing this fun immersive event, and its engaging first episode, it’s highly likely that most -if not all- attendees of “Hunters– With Killer Afterparty” have every intention of heading to Amazon Prime Video to complete their immersion into the Hunters world!

Hunters is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Comic-Con Museum Hosts WonderCon Exhibition, Opening Night Gala w Jen Bartel

WonderCon 2020 Program Cover Image by Jen Bartel

Last March, the images that graced the walls of the Comic-Con Museum “Cover Story: The Art of Comic-Con 50” exhibition perfectly illustrated San Diego Comic-Con’s (SDCC) finger on the pulse of pop-culture, throughout the years. And the museum’s new exhibition, “Sense of Wonder: The Art of WonderCon Anaheim”, does the same for SDCC’s sister convention in Anaheim, CA, April 10-12.

Similar to “Cover Story’s” focus on SDCC program cover illustrations, “Sense of Wonder” (running select days from Wednesday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, May 31) exhibits the commissioned, WonderCon program cover illustrations in various stages of the creation process.

The Walls outside the exhibition display a mural of WonderCon Covers, while inside is a gallery of drafts, thumbnails, and original pieces!

Unlike last year’s event, that focused only on past SDCC program covers, the “Sense of Wonder,” opening night event on Wednesday, February 19, took the opportunity to also DEBUT the 2020 WonderCon program cover!
And to the delight of all attendees, the Comic-Con Museum invited cover artist Jen Bartel along to help debut the cover and participate in a panel Q&A!

Museum Curatorial Director Gary Sassaman and Artist Jen Bartel debut the WonderCon Program Cover to resounding applause!

From cover debut… to past covers exhibits… to an entertaining and informative panel/Q&A… Comic-Con Museum charter members and guests were treated to a nice night celebrating WonderCon and this year’s talented cover artist.

Flyer, bookmark, and signed (In the rocks!) WonderCon program cover poster!

AND BEST OF ALL… Attendees walked away with glorious SWAG, in the form of a BEAUTIFUL poster showcasing the WonderCon 2020 cover illustration, SIGNED by Bartel!

Titans Season Two; Fan-Faves Perfect For DCU Push at NYCC

This past summer, when the DC Universe (DCU) streaming service showed-up at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) with a Titans subscriber-appreciation poster, inexplicably the poster image gave no indication of what to expect from season two. This was a huge, missed-opportunity to get subscribers and potential subscribers excited for the debut of fan-favorite characters, Deathstroke, Superboy and Krypto. Fortunately, after wrapping-up the season one cliffhanger, the Titans season two premiere episode (dropped September 6) spent the last few minutes giving viewers a glimpse of these new faces (including Bruce Wayne, sans cape & cowl).

Titans poster given to DCU subscribers at SDCC. Nice… but no sign of season two characters.

Last year, Titans debuted at New York Comic Con (NYCC) with a Wednesday night, pre-convention premiere. And as the content provider’s inaugural, original series, Titans was featured on much of the DCU promotional SWAG.

Titans posters, comics, & pins were a big part of the DCU promotional SWAG at NYCC 2019

Hopefully, this year’s Titans SWAG at NYCC incorporates the new characters seen at the end of S2:E1, and the characters introduced later in season one: Wonder Girl and Robin (Jason Todd). DCU would do well to highlight these characters as fan favorites, capable of enticing new subscribers.

Part of the DCU Titans promotional SWAG at NYCC 2018 included an autograph signing featuring many of season one’s heroes (Robin, Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, Hawk & Dove). And it’d be outstanding if part of the NYCC 2019, DCU Titans SWAG included an autograph signing featuring the other important characters (Wonder Girl, Jason Todd, Superboy, Krypto, Deathstroke and Bruce Wayne/Batman).

This would be an absolutely perfect companion piece to last year’s autograph poster …and an indication to subscribers that the DCU has a Long-term, well-thought-out plan for the Titans, that’s well worth the price of admission!

NYCC 2018 autograph poster for DCU Titans

New episodes of Titans, season two, drops every Friday on DCU.

It: Chapter Two: From SWAG Heavy Hype To Theaters

As the week’s widest theatrical release, It: Chapter Two is sure to come away as the weekend box office champ.
The movie’s dominating presence in theaters is reminiscent of its huge San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) presence this past July 17-21. It: Chapter Two was all over San Diego, and as a result, the movie’s Sept. 6, release may have seemed a long-time-coming to SDCC attendees. But the time has come… and audiences are finally getting a chance to see if “It” lives up to the hype.

Part of that hype is the SWAG created to market and promote the horror flick.

With It: Chapter Two as the centerpiece of both the Wednesday taping of the Conan Show, and the Warner Brothers (WB) hosted, ScareDiego annual event, the movie was the biggest and most desired game in town during SDCC Preview Night.

At both events, Conan O’Brien hosted a Q & A featuring the movie cast, and gifted audiences with the coveted Pennywise, Conan Funko Pop!. Other than the exclusive footage shown at ScareDiego, the events were very similar. However, in addition to the Funko Pop!, The ScareDiego audience also received an enamel pin of the iconic “It” red balloons.

The Funko Pop! was highly prized, but the most exclusive It: Chapter Two SWAG at SDCC was the coveted movie cast signing!

On Thursday, the first full day of the convention, WB hosted a cast signing at their huge booth on the convention showroom floor. The signing event could only be attended by those lucky-enough to score wristbands through an online lottery, and was limited to less than 100 people.

The poster was signed by the whole, “Losers” cast, including:

Jay Ryan
Jessica Chastain
James McAvoy
Isaiah Mustafa
Bill Hader
James Ransone
Andy Bean
Andy Muschietti- Director

While the signed poster SWAG was available exclusively to attendees of the signing event, It: Chapter Two SWAG at SDCC could also be had by any & everyone walking around downtown San Diego during the five-day event. As the cover subject of the Entertainment Weekly (EW), Comic-Con Bonus Issue, the movie was front-&-center-of-attention, as street teams passed-out copies of the magazine to passers-by.

With the Conan show, ScareDiego, a cast signing, and an EW cover story, it seems the It: Chapter Two marketing and promotion teams were hellbent on making sure most, if not ALL, con-goers walked away from SDCC with an awareness of the movie’s impending release. And with SWAG as physical souvenirs of the It presence in San Diego, the movie hasn’t been far from the minds of SDCC attendees since late July- when the convention ended.

Now, with the movie finally in theaters, it’s difficult to tell what effect the SDCC awareness will have on box office receipts. But if the movie does well… ESPECIALLY on opening weekend, hopefully the WB marketing machine and other promotions teams will take note of, and emulate, the “It” formula…

…Just think of all the wonderful SWAG opportunities!

The evil clown Pennywise has returned to torment the grown-up members of the Losers’ Club and can be seen in theaters now!

Deadly Class on SYFY. Are U Dressed for the Occasion?

At New York Comic Con (NYCC) this past October, Deadly Class got a big promotional push from the SYFY Network.

SYFY made sure everyone knew about Deadly Class at NYCC!

This promotional push included a pretty nifty-looking t-shirt with fan-created art, depicting comic book incarnations of the Deadly Class main characters.

Awesome Deadly Class t-shirt SWAG- Front View.

NYCC Attendees had to endure a long line, in the middle of the day, to get a t-shirt. But for fans of the comic book, it was totally worth the wait!

And now… with the SYFY TV show creating a slew of new Deadly Class fans, I wonder how many NYCC Attendees are kicking themselves for not taking the time to snag this awesome t-shirt SWAG?

Awesome Deadly Class t-shirt SWAG- Back View.

Deadly Class, episode 2 airs on SYFY tonight.
…Fortunately, I’m gonna be dressed for the occasion!

Glass Activation At NYCC

When Unbreakable was released, the movie had much to live up to… Fortunately, M Night Shyamalan’s sophomore effort turned out to be as good as his first film- The Sixth Sense.
Comic book collectors especially, could completely appreciate and enjoy Unbreakable’s real-world, very serious take on the absurdity of humans with super abilities and powers.

There had been rumors that Unbreakable was part of a trilogy, but after YEARS without a sequel, most fans were completely taken by surprise when Split revealed itself as the next installment in the Unbreakable universe.

Glass movie, comic book store set recreated on the floor of NYCC.

Now, almost 20 years later, Glass brings things full-circle!

To hype the long awaited film, this past October Universal Pictures set up an immersive activation on the floor of New York Comic Con (NYCC)- inviting attendees to enter the world of comic books, heroes and villains.

Missed opportunity: Copies of The Whisperman Comic as promotional SWAG

NYCC Attendees were encouraged to browse the shelves of a mock comic book store and marvel at the centerpiece comic book encased behind glass.
From the plexiglass encasement, only the cover of the comic book- titled The Wisperman– could be seen. But it’s a safe bet its the same comic of which the interior pages are briefly shown in the Glass television trailer.

The Glass marketing team didn’t take advantage of the PERFECT opportunity to promote the movie by creating and distributing real-world copies of the comic to NYCC attendees as awesome SWAG items… But a fortunate few visitors to the Glass booth activation did walk away with a much more personal souvenir of his/her visit.

Visitors willing to endure the wait were invited to make an appointment to participate in a mock psychiatric session/evaluation, similar to the therapy session seen in the Glass trailer.

Participants walked away with an uniquely personalized version of the Glass theatrical poster.

After being led to a back room of the comic book shop, taking a picture, and answering questions to determine one’s predisposition as hero or villain, participants walked away with an uniquely personalized mini-poster of his/her image on the Glass theatrical poster.

With a booth recreation of the comic book store set from Unbreakable and Glass, and a fun, scene re-enacting, interactive component, the Glass activation at NYCC was extremely successful at drawing participants into the fictional, Unbreakable/Split/Glass Universe.
And best of all, the experience culminated with a satisfying, personalized SWAG item that almost guaranteed the recipients’ support at the box office on opening weekend!

It certainly worked on me…

Glass… In theaters now!

Autograph Signing- Deadly Class at SDCC

At large pop culture conventions, it’s a given that you’re gonna spend a bit of time waiting in line. As a result, having something to read can be a godsend.

Last year at the start of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), SYFY announced their convention plans included hosting an autograph signing and panel for their live-action adaptation of the comic book, Deadly Class.

I love seeing comic books adapted into other media (especially live-action tv or movies). It’s fun and interesting to compare the page to the screen.
…So when I noticed Deadly Class Vol. 1: Reagan Youth available on ComiXology Unlimited, I decided it would be a good book to help pass my “SDCC line-time”.

Signed copy of Deadly Class issue #1, provided to attendees of the SDCC Autograph Signing.

Needless to say, by the end of the first day of SDCC, I’d become a huge fan of Deadly Class, and couldn’t wait for the panel and signing! But as is often the case at SDCC, a schedule conflict got in-the-way, and prevented me from attending the panel. However, I WAS fortunate to obtain a wristband to attend the signing!

At the Image Comics booth, wristband holders were provided a nice, live-action cover variant of Deadly Class issue 1 as an item to be signed. The comic book is a nice change from the typical poster that is usually given at cast signings. And from a marketing perspective, its a great promotional tool to entice those who are interested in the tv show to “delve-deeper” into the source material.

Cast members and creatives on-hand for the event included:

Rick Remender- creator /writer
Wes Craig-creator/artist
Miles Orion Feldsott- showrunner
Mick Betancourt- showrunner
Benjamin Wadsworth- Marcus
Benedict Wong- Master Lin
Lana Condor- Saya Kuroki
María Gabriela De Faría- Maria Salazar
Luke Tennie- Willie Lewis

Writer Rick Remender and Artist Wes Craig couldn’t have seemed more proud, as they signed alongside the actors cast to bring their creations to life!

Benedict Wong and Benjamin Wadsworth signing at the SDCC Image Comics Booth.

Thanks to Dr Strange and Infinity War, Actor Benedict Wong was the most well-known talent at the autograph table. Wong was very nice and gracious when signing, but his lesser-known, young costars seemed downright ecstatic and very happy to be at SDCC as part of the Deadly Class cast!

Lana Condor and María Gabriela De Faría signing at the SDCC Image Comics Booth.

Actors Lana Condor & Luke Tennie were especially engaging and helped make for a fun signing event.

The first episode of Deadly Class dropped on YouTube in late December. Those who have already caught the episode know SYFY appears to have a hit on their hands!

The show can now be seen on the SYFY website, and begins its run on the cable network on January 16.
If subsequent episodes are as good as the first episode, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t give the show a try!

*Heads-up… Deadly Class Vol. 1: Reagan Youth is still currently available as part of the ComiXology Unlimited subscription service!

Autograph Signing- Aquaman at SDCC

Not since Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy have I left the theater so satisfied after watching a DCUniverse motion picture!
Aquaman is a fun, visual spectacle that delivered exactly what’s promised!
And after seeing the King of Atlantis defeat the weekend box office, I couldn’t help but reminisce about one of my favorite San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) SWAG events of 2018.

Every year at SDCC there’s a signing that’s considered the “Holy Grail” of all signings.

In 2018, there were two such signing events.

With creative talent full of big name stars, and high anticipation for the upcoming movies, Aquaman and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald were fighting for first place in the hearts of autograph seekers.

SWAGCollector family member with Eddie Redmayne of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

The SWAGCollector family had a nice close-encounter with the Fantastic Beast cast but unfortunately didn’t get to attend the autograph signing.

However, we were lucky to be able to attend the amazing Aquaman autograph signing at the DC booth!

Included in the signing was:

Director James Wan
Jason Momoa- Aquaman
Nicole Kidman- Atlanna
Amber Heard- Mera
Patrick Wilson- Ocean Master
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II- Black Manta

The talent assembled were all gracious, but Nicole Kidman and James Wan were standouts for being especially friendly…

When I mentioned to Nicole that my son was a huge fan (after falling for Satine from Moulin Rouge), but couldn’t get into the signing, she asked,
“Where is he?”
I pointed to my son standing in the crowd behind her.
The wonderful Nicole Kidman then abruptly stood, turned, and vigorously waived and blew a kiss directly to him!

…Such a sweetheart!

Director James Wan at the SDCC ScareDiego panel

James Wan was also fun to talk to, as we had a brief exchange about the “Scare Diego” panel/offsite held during preview night of SDCC.

The autographed poster that resulted from the signing is an amazing piece of SWAG! …And if that wasn’t enough, DC also provided autograph wristband holders with a second poster and a SDCC Exclusive t-shirt!

After such an amazing autograph signing experience, it’s great to hear all the positive word-of-mouth Aquaman, the movie, is getting from fans and press. The SWAGCollector family had been eagerly awaiting the December 21 release of Aquaman. And fortunately, the movie was well worth the wait!

If you haven’t seen Aquaman yet… What are you waiting for?!?!

…Hurry and get to the theater before the holidays are over!

Autograph Signing- DCU’s Titans At NYCC

The SWAG promoting DC Entertainment’s new online content service, DC Universe (DCU) was a highlight of New York Comic Con (NYCC)!
With the Titans premiere, booth SWAG, and the surprise panel giveaway, it was truly an embarrassment of riches.
…And it all culminated with the awesome Titans cast and creatives signing!

Titans poster! Signed by cast of heroes appearing in episodes one and two!

The entire cast of six superheroes from the first two Titans episodes, plus two of the behind-the-scenes creatives, participated in the signing.

This included:

Brenton Thwaites- Robin
Teagan Croft- Raven
Ryan Potter- Beast Boy
Anna Diop- Starfire
Alan Ritchson- Hawk
Minka Kelly- Dove
Akiva Goldsman- Director/ Executive Producer/ Writer
Greg Walker- Producer/ Writer

Titans cast assembled for signing at NYCC, DC Entertainment Booth.

The interaction with the stars of Titans was great, but for me, it was especially nice having the behind-the-scenes creatives at the signing.

Let me explain…
The Titans trailer that came out of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) was so off-putting, that I had very low expectations for the series. When I saw the first two episodes at the NYCC premiere, I was relieved it was so well done, but I was still perplexed as to why Robin- Dick Grayson, was acting so out-of-character (based on years of comic book history).

Since when has Dick been so angsts-y and grim?
He’s not Damion, for God’s sake!

During the Titans screening, Producers Akiva Goldsman and Greg Walker provide insight into Robin’s character development.

Both Goldsman and Walker graciously listened then assured me that everything was very much “calculated”, and in service to Dick Grayson’s character-arc.
It still bothered me but, with the assurance of the producers, the infamous, cringe-worth “F-Batman” scene from the SDCC trailer didn’t play quite as bad when watched in-context with the actual scene in episode one. And because the more gratuitous violence has toned down since the first episodes, Titans has been a thrill to watch.

If you’re not watching Titans, do yourself a favor… Get DCU, and check it out!

As the series heads into the final episode of season one, we still don’t have a reason for Dick Grayson’s seeming contempt for Batman, but it’s clear that it’s all leading to his transformation from Robin to Nightwing…
Hopefully, once the transformation is complete, Dick Grayson will lighten-up as Nightwing, and his new attitude will have a trickle-down effect on his teammates.

I’m ready for this group to start having fun!

I Can’t wait for season two! And I look forward to a SDCC and/or NYCC signing including Conor Leslie- Donna Troy and Curran Walters- Robin/Jason Todd!