Come see me at CONvergence 2016!

This weekend - starting today, actually - is CONvergence, a big-deal science fiction/fantasy convention here in Minnesota. I've heard about CONvergence for years, but have never been and always felt I was missing out. So I'm pretty excited that this year I not only get to go, but get to go as an Invited Participant.

I'm not totally sure what all that entails, but I do know it means I'll be on a lot of panels. And moderating a couple of them. My schedule is below, if you'd like to come say "hi."

I probably won't be around much today or tomorrow, but I'll be there all day Saturday and Sunday. As you can see, Saturday is packed with panels, but I have more time on Sunday to check out everything else that's going on. Hope to see you there!

Saturday, July 2

11:00 am

Moving at the Speed of Plot - I'm moderating this panel on the relationship between world-building and plot. The official description of the panel says it well: "When you’re world building, how do the choices you make, such as setting, affect the decisions you make later about plot? Has your world inspired your plot more than your plot has inspired your world?" If you've read Kill All Monsters, you know where I fall on this, but it'll be fun to discuss with some other writers.

12:30 pm

Gaming with Kids - All about introducing kids (and really anybody) to deck-building, role-playing, and Euro-style board games. David introduced himself to deck-building games with Dinosaur King and Pokemon, but I'll take credit for RPGs and board games.

3:30 pm

Are Comics No Longer for Teens? - I'm moderating this one, too. According to the official description, the panel is mostly focused on DC and Marvel, but I expect we'll widen the discussion to include more kinds of comics than just that. I've been talking with some of the other panelists and we've got some varying opinions, so this should be an awesome conversation.

5:00 pm

Building Collaborative Works - Talking about the benefits and drawbacks of collaborating with other creators, as well as some practical "how to" stuff.

8:30 pm

Everything New is Old Again - Really looking forward to this conversation about reboots, remakes, and sequels. Been talking to some of the other panelists on this one, too, and I'm not the only one who enjoys a well-done remake. Maybe not at the expense of original stories though (if such a thing exists). Gonna be fun to hash this out.

Sunday, July 3

2:00 pm

Submarines: They Don’t Have to Be Black - The theme of the convention this year is the vehicles of science fiction and fantasy and I couldn't be more thrilled to get to talk about scifi/fantasy submarines. If you follow my Life at Sea Tumblr (or just this blog for a long enough period of time), you know how much I love the sea adventure. Looking forward to geeking out about some favorite fictional subs and most likely learning about some that I'm not so familiar with.

Oceanographers hate cephalopods

That's probably not true in general, but it sure is for whoever's in that sub. [via Pulp Covers]

Captain Nemo hates cephalopods: No. 6,782

You guys, Mark Schultz! You guys!

(via Ben Towle's Tumblr)

Captain Nemo still hates cephalopods

While Michael's in San Diego for the Big Show, it's Cephalopod Week at the Adventureblog!



[Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool]

Ocean skyscrapers, Jurassic Park 3D, and other news

People vs Nature: The Fort

• As the climate continues to change and the world gets deadlier for humanity, a couple of Ukranian designers have conceived what they believe to be a structure so sturdy that God himself couldn't sink it. I know I've heard that somewhere before... Bold claims aside, I'd totally live in that place.

People vs Nature: The Swim

• A guy from Texas is planning to swim across the Pacific Ocean, from Tokyo to San Francisco. He's already made it across the Atlantic once.

People vs Nature: The Biopic

• James Cameron is producing a film about "the love between free divers Francisco 'Pipin' Ferraras and his wife Audrey Mestre, and the record-setting attempt that claimed Mestre’s life." Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Green Lantern) will direct.

People vs Nature: The Tour

• If you missed out on that Groupon trip to the Titanic wreck, you can still book a similar trip for regular price. Deep Ocean Expeditions will be happy to take you down to 10,000 feet or deeper. All you need is between $30,000 to $375,000 depending on location. The Titanic costs around $60,000, but you can get to the Bismark later this year for less than $48,000. The most expensive one is called 20,000 Leagues Under the Atlantic and allows tourists to "traverse the North Atlantic basin, picking out an undersea route from Europe to North America."

Remember those photos of the Titanic wreck?

• You can own them (and other cool images from the site) if you get the April issue of National Geographic.

So just what is down there at the bottom of the ocean?

• It's fun to think about, but no one knows. That's why James Cameron is going.

The US Navy wants Robo-Subs

• I mean, who doesn't? But the Navy's likely to get theirs.

Why giant squids have giant eyes

• Atomic surgery explains it and uses Gary Gianni illustrations to help.

Floating islands

• Unfortunately, not that kind. But some scientists think that islands that float on the water may be responsible for the biodiversity on Madagascar.

Speaking of isolated islands

• They don't get more isolated than Tristan da Cunha, roughly equidistant between South America and Africa in the middle of the Atlantic.

Hanging tents

• A company called tentsile has invented a cross between a tent and a hammock "to provide separation from wildlife, including insects, snakes and other predators but also from sand storms, earth tremors, cold or wet ground, debris or contamination." I do most of my camping at the Hyatt, but I still want one.

The River could join Terra Nova at Netflix

• Like with Terra Nova, nothing's signed yet, but Netflix is thinking about it. The River hasn't been officially cancelled at ABC yet, but c'mon. You know it's going to be.

If you want to watch something about a river... 

• I recommend Tarzan and the Great River, and tell you why at Flick Attack. Short version: it's a cross between Tarzan, Bond, The African Queen, and Apocalypse Now.

Tarzan trading cards

• This is going to be a busy year for Tarzan merchandise. Wish we could get a new movie or something though.

Reading List: Becky Cloonan's The Mire

• Know what I love more than comics about decrepit castles in swamps? Nothing.

Jurassic Park 3D

• You knew it was coming. Now you know when: 19 July 2013.

Terra Nova cancelled, Tarzan arrested, and other news

Seems like a lot of cool/interesting stuff happened this week. Let's recap.

Terra Nova cancelled

• FOX announced that there would be no second season for Terra Nova, at least not on their network. The show was a modest ratings success, but not the blockbuster hit it needed to be to justify its expense. It never came together well creatively either. FOX was trying to figure out how to tweak a potential second season, but gave up.
  
  I'm not a fan of the mediocre relationship drama of the show - especially the way it sidelines the dinosaurs - but my son likes it pretty well and I've heard from other fans who are disappointed by this news. There may be a glimmer of hope for those folks. Though nothing's been signed yet, Netflix is thinking about picking it up.

My new favorite Tarzan movie

• Over at  Flick Attack, I reviewed Tarzan and the Valley of Gold.

MIT Certificates of Piracy

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has had a secret pirate program this whole time.

Ron Ely Tarzan series on DVD

• Finally! When I was growing up, this was my Tarzan. [Atomic Pulp]

Kickstart an ERB documentary

• Filmmaker Mark Linthicum is hoping to crowdsource a film exploring the life, imagination, and legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

James Cameron's 3D underwater documentary

• The Titanic filmmaker already has co-funding for his trip to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench and Deepsea Challenge, the film documenting it.

Tarzan arrested for keeping tigers

• Steve Sipek (aka Steve Hawkes) starred in a couple of Spanish/Italian Tarzan films in 1969 and 1972. It was during the filming of the second of these, Tarzan and the Brown Prince that something amazing happened. According to The Wild Eye:

During the shooting of a scene in which Tarzan had been tied down to be tortured, some spilled fuel ignited. The crew scattered, leaving Sipek tethered to two iron stakes at the centre of the flames. Tied to his arm on the end of a long rope was Sampson, a lion trained to rush to his rescue and rip off the restraints when given the cue.

“As the fire came towards me, I pulled hard on the rope and Sampson came charging in,” recalls Sipek. “He pulled off the rope and dragged me out and my life changed for ever. I said that if I lived, I would care for any animal that needed me.”

Sipek kept that promise and opened an animal sanctuary called Jungleworld in Florida. He and his animals were in the news several years ago when one of his tigers escaped and was killed by a wildlife officer. The Daily Mail reports that Florida wildlife officials began looking into Sipek's sanctuary again this past October and after a lengthy investigation determined that Sipek didn't have the proper licenses or training to keep his animals and that the compound was a threat to public safety. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges.

RIP Disney songwriter Robert B Sherman

• He wrote the songs for The Jungle Book along with many other Disney movies from that era. He passed away on Monday at the age of 86.

Lots of cool projects coming

• David Gallaher and Steve Ellis (High Moon) are trying to Kickstart The Only Living Boy, a four-volume series of 50-page comics "inspired by pulp adventure novels[...]like John Carter, Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Killraven, and the Jungle Book." [Robot 6]
• Jeff Lemire (Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE) will have a new graphic novel in August about an expectant father who encounters something strange deep in the sea. Top Shelf describes The Underwater Welder as "equal parts blue-collar character study and mind-bending science fiction epic."
• How did I not know about a 380-page graphic novel about a cowgirl who wears a yellow string-bikini? Bikini Cowboy has been out since last fall and I'm just now getting it.

People Trapped in the Depths Hate Cephalopods

[Pulp Covers]

The Arctic Marauder

I'll have to forgive you if you hear the description of Jacques Tardi's The Arctic Marauder and think that it's a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea rip-off. After all, it does have ships that mysteriously blow up as eerie lights shine below the ocean surface.



And the destruction does end up being caused by the anti-social crew of a submersible, who do occasionally like to go for walkabouts on the ocean floor.



But The Arctic Marauder doesn't steal from 20,000 Leauges so much as improve on it. After all, Nemo's crew never traveled like this:



The Arctic Marauder takes out all of Verne's boring travelogue stuff and replaces it with awesome. The Marauder is also the name of the villains' seacraft and it's even more cool than the Nautilus. And rather than just being withdrawn from society like Nemo, the Marauder's captain is a full-blown whackadoo who wants to destroy the world.



There's also this creepy, old bat to complicate things in the best possible way.



And of course there's some good, old-fashioned cephalopod hating.



While not exactly a cliff-hanger, the ending does necessitate a sequel, so the lack of closure is the only negative comment I can make about this thing. Even then, though, there's a way of reading it where the book says everything it needs to. Still, I hope Tardi's working on the follow-up right this very minute, because I want a lot more of this.

Art Show: Cat Women

Skorpion



By Rick Burchett. [From the graphic novel he's working on with writer Christopher Mills]

Fanciful Submarines



By Andrew George Brown. [Lots more at Etsy by way of Wondermark]

From the Depths



By Matt Wiegle. [Seriously, if you're not reading his and Sean T Collins Destructor webcomic - from which this is a page - you're missing out.]

Aquaman: King of the Seas



By Braden D Lamb.

A Naiad



By John William Waterhouse. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Princess Pantha



By Alex Schomburg. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Zabu



By Brent Anderson. [Giant-Size Marvel]

Jungle Girl



By Red LYUBA. [More here]

Tigra



By Jason Barton.

Art Show: Grrrreat!

HMS Hornblower



By Mattias Adolfsson.

Floating



By Sulamith Wulfing. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Atomic Commandos in Action!



Possibly by Ogden Whitney. [Admiral Cal]

Pass the Comics: Those two freakish fish

Namora helps solve The Case of the Deep Sea Swindle



Namora and her famous cousin are sort of wasted in this adventure, because it all takes place on a boat. But it's still a fun espionage story with the most flamboyant, modern-day pirate you ever saw. [Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea to witness Monsters of the Moho



Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is always cool. [Gold Key Comics!]

Art Show: Kingship of the Apes

Posting ten images a week hasn't been helping me make headway against my backlog. In fact, I'm getting further and further behind. So to help me catch up, this week's a whopper.

Cabin Boy



By Pierre Joubert. [Illustrateurs]

Belit



By Mike Hawthorne. [ComicTwart]

Kitty Pryde, Pirate



By Adam Withers. [Swing with Shad, a cool sea-themed blogger who's started his own set of Art Show posts.]

After the break: Way too much to list. Seriously. It's a butt-load of art.

Art Show: L'Esclave Blanche

Human Torpedo Strike



By Mort Künstler. [Illustrateurs]

Aquaman



Photo by Kimli. From the ceiling of a bar she visited. She's also got some video where you can see the rest of the ceiling.

The Glory of Tiki



Artist Unknown [Discovered during the travels of Admiral Calvin]

After the break: a jungle girl, Hellboy vs. Silhouette, a voodoo warrior, Frankenstein vs Dracula, robots, their space girl, and mythological maidens.

Movie News: Drew Barrymore and Flying Monkeys

Dawn Treader poster



Saw this poster at the movie theater last week. It's been so long since we've had any updates that I'd almost forgotten about the movie. Which is a shame because it's my favorite Narnia book and so by all rights should be the best film in the series. These things take so long to crank out though that I'm skeptical about the chances of the series' continuing far past this one. Hopefully it'll do really well as the holiday release that Prince Caspian should have been and the next ones will get fast-tracked. [/Film]

Another 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea



Because it's not tough enough keeping track of two Three Musketeers films, now there are two 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movies in development as well. Disney's (captained by David Fincher) and now one by Ridley and Tony Scott; written by one of the guys who wrote the Clash of the Titans remake. The Scotts' version will be set in the future to connect it more closely with Jules Vernes' scifi intentions than with his actual nineteenth-century setting. I can't say that I'm excited about that. [The Hollywood Reporter]

After the break: a sea monster, Alpha Flight, Empires of the Deep, the Robin Hood post mortem, Three Musketeers, Hitman 2, Salt, and after Oz.

The Neptune Factor (1973)

The Neptune Factor is most assuredly not "the most fantastic undersea odyssey ever filmed." That wasn't even true in 1973 (not with movies like Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea predating it by 20 years). What it is is a fairly mundane, '70s disaster flick only without the all-star cast (Ernest Borgnine was the biggest name they could muster) or special effects. That's not to say that it's worthless; just very disappointing.

The plot's pretty simple. An undersea earthquake sends a submerged ocean lab into the giant crevice that it was located next to and a rescue is mounted. Tension is created not through action, but through the lack of it. The search for the missing lab is long and tedious for the workers, but the movie does a nice job of making that interesting for the audience. Since it never cuts to the lab to let us know if they're okay or not, we're invested in the hunt too. And that makes us equally frustrated by frequent setbacks like unusually strong underwater currents, aftershocks from the quake, and waiting for proper equipment.

One example of proper equipment is a mini-sub called Neptune. Before it's arrival (it's just been overhauled and hasn't been tested since it was), the primary search was conducted by a military sub that was too large to go into the crevice to look. Once Neptune arrives, things start to look up, except that her by-the-book captain isn't as emotionally invested in the search as the rest of the team - people who've worked with the missing men for a long time. So there's some interpersonal drama too as the rest of the sub crew tries to make the captain take risks against his better judgment.

How to make giant fish lame after the break.

Art Show: Batman's got a gun!

Fish Sub



By Jeremy Vanhoozer.

The Beasts of Tarzan



By Neal Adams. Thanks to the Ballantine Books editions of the Tarzan stories I had as a kid, Adams' version of Tarzan will always be the definitive one for me. In fact, it was probably his covers that made me pick those books up in the first place and turned me into a Tarzan fan. [Illustrateurs has a whole bunch of them.]

Jungle Girl



By J Scott Campbell. [Sent to me in email by a friend who obviously knows me very well]

Batman, She-Hulk, Rogue, and a space girl after the break.

Friday Night Art Show: Into the Wicked Beak of the Monster

The Courage of Sir Francis Drake



By Frank Godwin. [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Sunken Cities



By Frank R. Paul. [Poulpe Pulps]

Jules Verne



By Scott Campbell [Hey, Oscar Wilde! It's Clobberin Time!]

Avoidance Situation



By Mel Hunter [Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Not What I Expected



By Jeremy Vanhoozer.

Octopus Attack



I'm not sure who the artist is, but it's from the September 1940 issue of Weird Tales. Sleestak was kind enough to email it to me. Thanks, Sleestak!

Anime Aquaman



By Cliff Chiang. Based on this earlier idea of his.

Marrina



By J Bone. Marrina's one of my Top Three favorite members of Alpha Flight. I like Puck a lot too, so I kind of wish she'd leave him alone, but this isn't nearly as bad as what she did to him in the comic.

I Heart Sharks



By Jess Hickman. I'm totally using this character in the pirate-fantasy comic Jess and I are going to do.

Ancient Jungle Cool



By Frederick Catherwood. [Admiral Calvin of the Tentacle Wars, operating from his Canadian Cave of Cool. And there's way more in the link. Go! Look!]

Concert of the Apes



Artist unknown. [There's a whole Rulah cover gallery at The Comic Book Catacombs.]

Stream of Consciousness



By Robert Conrad [Collectors Showcase]

Penny vs the Cownt



By Jess Hickman from the upcoming Cownt Tales comic. The Bride of Frankenstein kitty is one of three hosts who narrate the comic Tales from the Crypt- or The Witching Hour-style.

Oz Monkey



By Jim Pearson.

Zatanna



By Cliff Chiang...



...and Charles Holbert. [Meagan Van Burkleo]