Bob Layton at Ottawa Comiccon

On May 13th, Ty Templeton held a special event at the 2017 Ottawa Comiccon called 'On the Couch with Bob Layton'. For nearly an hour, Templeton had Layton tell the audience about how he got into the comics industry and the inspirations behind his more well-known work (i.e. Iron Man, Valiant comics, etc).

DC in the 80s was fortunate enough to attend this event in-person. It was a fantastic interview and Layton did most of the talking (providing insights into his career which I would've never thought to ask him about) and it felt like one hour was just not enough time. In the interest of the Bob Layton autobiography that will inevitably NEED to be published someday, we will NOT be recounting the entire presentation, but instead just focusing on the highlights relevant to DC in the 80s.

Bob Layton (left) being interviewed by Ty Templeton (right)

How Layton was introduced to comics

"At the age of four years old I bought my first comic book, and it was a Showcase issue of Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby. The story-telling was so clear that I could tell what was happening -- here I am in Preschool and I knew the story. I made my sister sit down and teach me how to read so I knew what was in the balloons and what they were saying. So I actually skipped a grade of school -- I graduated high school when I was seventeen because I was reading proficiently by the time I even got to Kindergarten."

Later on in the interview, he mentioned Wally Wood as the artist on the first comic he ever read. Based on those clues, I'm going to guess that his first comic book was 1957's Showcase v1 #12.

The comic book that started it all?

His first fanzine -- Contemporary Pictorial Literature (CPL)

"The fanzines that we produced at the time were very very popular -- there was a lot of stuff out there. I got the idea that if I send those fanzines up to the comic companies, those guys will read them. So I used to send twenty-five copies to Marvel, DC, Charlton [Comics] and anybody else that was publishing. Sure enough, they were passing 'em out. [Roger] Stern wrote really funny articles -- I mean, they were hilarious. I had my little art in there -- that's how Wally [Wood] first saw me. He saw my art in one of the fanzines and told a mutual friend that if I was ever on the East Coast that he'd take me on as his apprentice."

"At the time we were doing our little digest fanzine, CPL, with Roger Stern, and we had our house staff fan artist -- an unknown guy named John Byrne. John started with us. So did Bob Hall, Michael Uslan was an article writer for us, Steven Grant was a regular contributor to it. I mean I could go down the list of people -- it was like a Who's Who of people who wound up in the business now. In the case with all of us, we were publishing our fanzines and then Charlton got a hold of us -- because we did a special Charlton issue of CPL."

Bob Layton co-founded the Contemporary Pictorial Literature (CPL) fanzine with Roger Stern. Other comic pros involved in the CPL fanzine: Alex Toth, Tony Isabella and Roger Slifer (to name a few). CPL ran from 1973 to 1975.

Cover of CPL #11 (1974). Curious to see the interior?
Visit http://ripjaggerdojo.blogspot.ca/2010/08/contemporary-pictorial-literature-11.html

His first ComicCon

"I also put on the very first ComicCon at Indianapolis in 1975. I've always had sort of an entrepreneurial side to me -- I always wanted to understand the business that I wanted to be in, regardless of what it was. I LOVED comics. In those days, because we didn't have the internet and ways to get in touch with each other, it was very hard to network with other comic book fans. So, I decided to put on a ComicCon in 1975. It was awful. I was twenty years old and I didn't know jack about anything. It still came off big, but that was one of the beautiful things -- I made such great friends out there: I had Walt Simonson, Howard Chaykin, Dick Giordano was there, Michael Uslan was there. One of the kids who came to the Comiccon -- he talked his parents into driving him all the way from Illinois because there was a Comiccon in Indianapolis and he wanted to meet a professional writer there, y'know, he was dying to do that. This little twelve year old convinced his parents to drive all the way there so he could meet Michael Uslan and sit down and talk with him -- that kid was Sam Raimi [creator of Evil Dead film franchise]."   

Networking

[in response to discovering that Wally Wood wood take him on as an apprentice]

"I had $200 in my pocket and a beat-up Galaxy 500 station wagon and I drove up there and I slept on Walt Simonson's floor in Queens until I found an apartment. And then he passed me off to Chaykin, who lived upstairs. Chaykin and Bernie Wrightson lived upstairs, and they made me go up there to sleep. They all lived in the same apartment building in Queens. Bernie and Howie [Chaykin] shared an apartment, and then Walt Simonson and Al Milgrom shared an apartment." 

First breaking into Marvel

'I started as an inker [for Charlton] because that was the easiest way to break in. They needed inkers. Always. It was always the easier way to break in to comics. I mean, I wanted to write. I wanted to do everything. Which I eventually did -- but you have to start somewhere."

"Wally [Wood] hated going in to New York City. We lived in Derby, Connecticut -- a little depressed town in Northern Connecticut. So I would volunteer to deliver pages for him. I would get on the train, take the two and half hour ride down to New York City, and I'd go up to Marvel or I'd go up to DC and -- because I was delivering Wally Wood pages -- I'd say 'I have to give this to the Art Director personally'. And, of course, in my other arm, I'd have my own sample [pages].  And that's how I wormed my way in."

"I was delivering pages from Wally to Marvel -- I was going into John Romita's office. John was, like, pulling his hair out. He was having conniptions because the regular inker on the George Tuska book (which happened to be involving Iron Man) got sick, and had to send the pages back -- which took forever -- and there were only 3 days left before this book had to ship. He's on the phone trying to find someone who could knock this book out. 22 pages. At that particular time, I was dividing my time between working for Wally Wood and working for Dick Giordano down at Continuity Associates Studios (which was a big advertising firm that Neal Adams and Giordano ran on Madison Ave in New York). So I looked at John and lied through my teeth and said 'I can do it, John. I can do this in 3 days.' I was doing background inks at the time -- I got $6 a page for background inks. You know how many pages you've got to ink to pay rent at $6 a page? Living in the New York tri-state area? John's like 'okay kid, I'm gonna give you a shot'. What did he have to lose? The book wasn't going to get done anyways."

"I had a plan -- I was going to get help. I ran up to Continuity Associates Studios -- up there there were a whole bunch of fledgling guys like me who were working for Dick Giordano and Neal Adams at the time. Guys like Terry Austin, Steve Mitchell, Bob Wiacek, Bob McLeod, guys whose names you'd be familiar with if you were a comic fan. We were just kids then. I started passing out pages and I said 'I'm buying the beer'. I said 'I'm going to do those pages, everybody do everything else' and so we stayed up for 3 days and we banged that sucker out. (For the record, I found George Tuska years later and apologized to him in person.) I come in, and here's this ghastly thing, and I put it on his [Romita's] desk, and he's like 'wow. thanks, kid'. And that was it, that's all he said."

Layton was initially worried that he had killed his career with that very rushed assignment, but it led to his first official inking Marvel inking job on Champions #9 (1976). Layton didn't want to reveal which Tuska book he worked on, but based on the clues I'm going to assume he's referring to 1976's Iron Man #91.

cover by Herb Trimpe and Aubrey Bradford

Early inking work for Marvel and DC

"I bounced back and forth a lot, because -- you've got to remember -- we got paid nothing. If they paid me 2 more dollars a page, I was DC's [slave]. Y'know? And if Marvel offered me a $1.50 more, I was Marvel's [slave]. Y'know? That's how we did it -- we just bounced back and forth. Finally, the last bounce I did -- it's funny because I did one issue of the X-Men with Dave Cockrum (he was a friend), and I said 'This is stupid. The X-Men. Who are these guys?'. It was a bi-monthly book, so it only came out once every 2 months. I thought, 'I don't want to do this, it's just another team book', so I left and, of course, they became Marvel's #1 selling book. John Byrne comes on, and Terry Austin... it's like when actors turn down Academy Award-Winning roles. I left THE X-MEN to go over and do Star Hunters. Y'know? I can't say that I'm a genius or anything because I actually walked away from that. But, actually, it all worked out great..."

Green Lantern vs Gorilla Grodd from DC Super Stars #14 (1977).
Pencilled by Rich Buckler, inked by Bob Layton.

DC's Star Hunters (1977)

"... because that's where I met David [Michelinie]. David and I started co-plotting together over there (he was writing Star Hunters). He recognized that I had a flair for creativity and story-telling. He loved my ideas so we collaborated on that. And then DC was about to implode -- they were about to cancel a third of their line -- I kind of smelled it coming. Dick Giordano gave me a little heads up on it, too. And I said to David, 'Let's go back to Marvel'. David never worked there, but said I knew people there so... (I'd been back and forth doing my thing)..."

The Star Hunters premiered in 1977's DC Super-Stars v1 #16 and ran for seven issues as an ongoing series from 1977 to 1978. Tom Sutton became the inker for the title after issue #5. The saga of the Star Hunters was never resolved.

Cover penciled by Don Newton, inked by Bob Layton

Revitalizing Marvel's Iron Man (1978)

"We went over to Marvel and we were still relatively unknown at that point -- we hadn't made a name for ourselves yet or anything. What they would do back then -- a contract was signed with the National Distributor to distribute comics to newsstands and spinner racks all over the country for 12 issues. So, if the sales figures come back on the first 6 issues and it looked like the book was gonna tank... which was weird because tanked back then was 90,000 [copies]... what they'd do is remove John Buscema (or their other A-list guys) off those books, and try schmucks like me because they figured I couldn't hurt it, and then finish out the last 6 issues. So one of the books the offered me was Iron Man -- which I'd waited my whole ENTIRE LIFE to get a crack at."

"When I first started Iron Man, I asked them if we could change a few things. They said "We don't care, we're going to cancel it". So, we set off a bomb on page 5 and killed EVERYBODY and by the next five issues we had created James Rhodes, the Hall of Iron, the variant armors, and... the book took off. The next thing I know, they put a contract under my nose and I'm on contract with them. Another weird coincidence: my editor for Iron Man? Roger Stern."

"I've always been a very technologically savvy guy. I've always been very science savvy. By the late 70s heart transplants were common place. Here's a guy who's a billionaire and a genius, and he can't figure out a way to fix his heart? I personally knew people who were having heart transplants by then! We were trying to create a new corporate world -- the book was now about Tony Stark. When we took it over, it wasn't about Iron Man -- it used to be that Tony was just the shill, he was the guy with the money so he could be Iron Man all the time. I wanted to be Tony Stark as a kid -- I didn't care about Iron Man. I didn't care about the suit. I wanted the girls, the cars and the money. I wanted to be the smartest guy in the room. Previously, the emphasis at Marvel was never on Tony Stark, and that's what we brought. But we had to change the 'heart' thing because it didn't make sense." 

Tony Stark's Alcoholism

"One of the clichés of Iron Man was: he'd be fighting the Mandarin or Ultimo, and he's just about to win, and he'd fall over at the end of the issue with heart problems. I don't know ANYONE who's had 50 heart attacks and lived! Again, medicine had caught up to Iron Man and the heart thing seemed outdated now. Since we were creating a brand-new and intricate corporate world for him, we wanted to give him something to be his kryptonite -- something he'd struggle with --  and it seemed to me that alcoholism would be the best thing. Plus, you have to remember the time we were living in: this was the 1970s and it was a time of social awareness. Comics don't really set trends, we reflect them. Comics really reflect popular culture. At the time, awareness of drugs and alcohol was actually being talked about. It seemed... appropriate... given the type of character we were writing."


Layton also set the record straight that, while he may have given Tony Stark alcoholism, Tony's extreme drunkenness (ex: sleeping in an alleyway, puking in his shoes) was Denny O'Neil's doing.

Iron Man #128 - "Demon in a Bottle". Inks by Bob Layton

Leaving Marvel Comics and the Birth of Valiant Comics

"One of my dearest friends in the business was an inker from DC named Jack Abel. He was a New York treasure --- a great inker -- y'know, an amazing, talented guy. And Jack had a stroke (sometime in the early 80s) and he lost the ability to draw, even though he still had it in his head. So Marvel Comics, feeling some loyalty to Jack -- because he'd been there forever -- they made him a proof-reader. This is so he'd have a job and he could finish out his career, because we don't have retirement plans -- we just work until we drop dead, guys, okay? That's the way it normally works. So... I remember seeing Jack sitting in the corner, and I would talk to him and he was just miserable. He wanted to draw -- he knew HOW to draw, he could draw BETTER than me -- BUT he couldn't do it anymore. I started to realize the biggest problem with this, the worst disservice I could do to myself and to my mentors, was to become a wage slave. Y'know? Basically become Marvel's slave for the rest of my life. The only way I was really going to succeed and grow beyond doing the same friggin' thing over and over again until I dropped dead or had a stroke like Jack or whatever, was to participate in the creation of stuff. To own it. To own what I create." 


"Valiant Comics started out in the noggin of Jim Shooter and Steve Massarsky -- they were actually putting together Marvel Ice Capades, believe it or not, and THAT fell through... and I don't know why. (chuckles) Jim always used me as a resource up there, so they got a line on venture capital through that project -- which DIDN'T happen -- but they still had the line on the venture capital. The comic business, by that time, was starting to really boom... I mean when I did X-Factor (that was one of the last big series' I did there at Marvel), I set Marvel sales records at that point. It was stupid, y'know? It was the like the first time I had ever gotten royalties. It was amazing. That would've been around 1985."


"So anyways, I get a call from Jim and he says "Look, you're my idea man. I need to create a whole line of characters over here. I need you over here." and I replied "Well, I'm on contract, I've got health insurance and all sorts of benefits and stuff" and Jim replied "I'll see to it that you get a percentage of the company." So I went over there and I ran production, and we had the Gold Key characters (Magnus Robot Fighter, Solar Man of the Atom, Turok Son of Stone) but they suddenly got the idea in their head that "we have licensing for WWE and Nintendo and we're going to do those instead", and they blew through the ENTIRE investment with the worst comic books they've ever made. I mean, JUST AWFUL. And I was screaming "People who play games don't want to READ comics about Mario, okay? They want to PLAY Mario!". Y'know? They couldn't GIVE this crap away."

Gameboy v1 #4 (1990). Published by Valiant Comics.
I like to imagine Solar, Man of the Atom is behind that door.

"I basically sat down and we co-created the entire line of [Valiant] characters and we launched those with Solar and Magnus. The FIRST new one was X-O Manowar -- which was mine. 'Conan in a Can' is what we called it among ourselves. I wanted to go totally opposite of Tony Stark, but they wanted me to create an armored character. And then the list goes on and on. Those books are still around."

X-O Manowar #1 (1992). Valiant Comics.

"I worked on almost every single first issue Valiant put it out -- I'm uncredited in a lot of stuff -- plus, I ran production. I put myself in the hospital twice, from exhaustion. I did EVERYTHING there for the first 2 years. It was INSANE." 


Interestingly enough, a few of Bob Layton's former collaborators did work at Valiant Comics during the early 1990s:

• David Michelinie wrote (most of) the first eight issues of  1992's Rai, the first sixteen issues of 1992's H.A.R.D.Corps, and the first three issues of 1993's Turok, Dinosaur Hunter.
• Bob Hall wrote thirty-three issues of Shadowman from 1992 to 1995. He also wrote seven issues of Timewalker in 1995.  
• Roger Stern worked on a few issues of Magnus Robot Fighter in 1992.

The Current State of Comics (2017) 

Additionally, Layton had a few insights to give on the current state of the comic industry:

"When the bottom fell out of the collectability aspect of it in the late 90s, there was a concerted effort by the comic companies to cater to their base: the "hardcore" guys -- the older guys -- who had money and jobs and other stuff. Basically, they [the comic companies] started writing comics for those guys, and the thing is... when we worked, every issue was a FIRST issue. It was on the newsstands. EVERYTHING had to be a 'jumping on' point for someone, y'know? They have LOST the ability to do that now -- that's part of the problem. How many people go to the movies and see an X-Men film and think "Oh! I love the X-Men!" and then they go to the comic book shops to buy a copy of the X-Men and it's not even the SAME characters ...and it's part 6 of a 12-part story ...and they're just totally confused! That's part of the problem -- there's a DISCONNECT now. Comics used to be the jumping on point for the genre, now it's film and television. That's why, in the comic industry, the numbers are not as healthy as they used to be."

"One of the reasons I got out of comics -- and I don't want to trash it by any means -- but there's a tipping point.... and it's coming. Would you pay $7 USD for a 22-page pamphlet? For $7 USD I can get Netflix and watch two season of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones -- it's the same characters for the same money!  Versus one badly done comic book that's issue 3 of a 10-part story. We're competing with Hollywood for the same characters, the same money. So, something has to change. Somebody -- smarter than me -- has to figure out how to do it."

"We're going to end on an upbeat note: the European model is the way to go. In Europe, have you seen Lieutenant Blueberry? These are french books that are done almost actual size. They're beautiful, hardback editions that you don't have to stick IN A BAG. They have a high enough price point that your retailer can make a profit with less copies. They're fully contained stories --  so you don't have to keep buying book after book after book. And you don't have to put them in a PLASTIC BAG -- you put them up on your bookshelf next to your other hardback novels and they'll STAY THERE FOREVER."

---

We did stop by Bob Layton's convention booth afterwards to ask a few follow-up questions.

Earth-Two Huntress (Helena Wayne). 

We asked about his co-creation credits on the Earth-Two Huntress (first appearing in 1977's DC Super-Stars #17). Layton, in fact, had a very large part in the creation of the Huntress back in the late 70s and even had a radically different costume in mind for her. "The costume she ended up with looked liked a combo of Batman and Catwoman's costumes -- no wonder Batman was able to figure out it was his daughter so quickly", he joked. Layton shares Huntress co-creator credit with Paul Levitz and Joe Staton.

In case you're wondering, his favorite series that he's ever wrote is still The Second Life of Doctor Mirage (published by Valiant Comics in 1993). Layton added that he's a closet romantic comedy fan, and this was his chance to write for the genre. He added that it sold really well until he left the series.

Second Life of Doctor Mirage #9 (1994)

Sometimes you go to a comic book convention, try to strike up a conversation with a comic pro sitting at his/her booth, and they have absolutely nothing to say. Bob Layton is NOTHING like that. Layton is extremely charismatic -- a truly energetic and engaging talker, and I encourage you to walk up to his table at any convention he appears at and chat with him. He has lots to say and has a lead a very interesting career. My only regret was not being able to ask him more X-Factor questions.

---

I've got to give credit (where credit is due) to Ty Templeton -- he was an excellent MC, kept the conversation with Layton on track, and clarified some details for fans who may not have been clear as to what Layton was referring to. It was almost as if Tepleton had the same questions we fans did. It was an excellent panel and I encourage you to attend any other panels Templeton hosts.

Layton also made a strong recommendation to check out Charlton Comics: The Movie (in which he makes an appearance to talk about his time working for Charlton Comics). By the time you read this, the movie may already

Extra big thanks to Ottawa Comicon and Agence Pink for organizing this informative and entertaining event.


Justin Francoeur

Visiting the 2017 Ottawa Comiccon and let's talk about Starlog Magazine while we're at it

Just like last year, the Ottawa EY Centre was host to this year's Ottawa Comiccon. This year's event felt packed with lots to see and do. There literally was something for everyone:

-Are you a Star Wars fan? The Capital City Garrison was in attendance, so there were plenty of professional Star Wars cosplay photo ops.

photo source: Adrian K

-Are you a Dr Who fan? Peter Capaldi (12th doctor), Alex Kingston, and Jenna Coleman were there for photo ops. I'd probably guess that one fourth of the cosplay was Dr Who related -- for a fan of the good doctor, this probably seemed like a mini Dr Who convention.

Peter Capaldi. Photo courtesy of Ottawa Comiccon media relations.

-A comic book fan? Mike Zeck, Michael Golden, Ty Templeton and Bob Layton were in attendance doing commissions, selling prints and signing comics. Comic book fans had a lot of amazing talent under one roof to buy art from. [More on that later]

-A steampunk fan? There was a pretty significant steampunk presence, but not as strong as last year's event.

-A cosplayer? You were in the right place. Lots of great cosplay this year, as well as panels and workshops discussing cosplay. Actually. I'd say this year's Ottawa Comiccon had a stronger cosplay presence than last year, and we saw a lot of creative and innovative costumes. [see photos later in this article]

-An 80s pop culture fan? The original cast from 1987's Degrassi Junior High made a special appearance. Jon Cusack [Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank] was also there for photo ops and a Q&A session. The car from Knight Rider, KITT, was also on-site for photo ops.

Hey, it's the cast of Degrassi Junior High! Which Canadian teen didn't watch Degrassi growing up in the late 80s?

-If you're into board games (or just needed to get off your feet for a while), The Kessel Run had a gaming area set up near the back of the convention where you could sit down and try out some new games.


The actual event -- Friday:

We were lucky enough to obtain media passes for the Friday opening. Friday had a pretty modest turn-out (more so than last year, it seemed). Typically, Fridays are only open to media and convention goers with special three-day or VIP passes (it's kind of a perk to be there on a Friday afternoon before everyone else arrives). The convention centre really started to fill up around 4pm and this was a probably a result of attendees getting off from work and coming straight to the convention, and John Barrowman (The Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Torchwood, Doctor Who) and Bob Morley (The 100) signing autographs that evening.

Upon arriving at the EY Centre on Friday, we wasted no time in trying to secure interviews with the creators we hoped to talk to. Reality check: nearly all of them were swamped with commissions and unable to talk. One of the harsh realities about being a comics journalist for a DIY fanzine is that, when attending a comics convention, you don't always get to interview the creators you'd like to (mainly because they're too busy with signings and commissions). We were spoiled last year when Mike Grell allowed us to sit down and interview while he worked, but that was pretty much the exception and not the norm.

Bob Layton was pretty busy from the get-go, and was hard at work getting his commissions done before the end of day. He was pretty enthusiastic to chat with us, but we just couldn't make our schedules sync. Thankfully, he took a few moments to pose for us. Ty Templeton interviewed him in a panel on Saturday afternoon and Layton managed to answer most of the burning questions we had for him.

smiling Bob Layton

The ever-elusive Renee Witterstaetter appeared at this year's Ottawa Comiccon. As an added bonus, she was publicist/booking agent for both Mike Zeck and Michael Golden -- two creators we had hoped to interview. "Mike doesn't really say much and doesn't do interviews", she explained. I looked over, and Mike Zeck was furiously sketching something in ink for an attendee. Michael Golden was equally busy working on something really cool for another attendee, no doubt. "I can't talk right now, but e-mail me or call me when this event is over...", Renee replied when I told her I wanted to interview her about her time at DC comics in the late 80s working as assistant editor to Mike Carlin. I plan on taking her up on that offer very shortly (maybe I'll even throw in a few questions for Zeck and Golden).

Mike Zeck working hard, with Renee in the background.

Michael Golden hard at work

Other creators included Geof Isherwood, who actually lives near Ottawa, so we hope to grab an interview with him in the very near future:

Geof Isherwood

Other comic book creators in attendance were Ty Templeton (we interviewed him at last year's Montreal Comiccon), Richard Pace (we also interviewed him at last year's Montreal Comiccon), Janet Hetherington and Ronn Sutton (we recently interviewed them as well), and Dan Parent. Richard Pace was by far the most entertaining creator we spoke to with lots of interesting insights into the industry, and I really hope to get a round 2 interview out of him soon.

Richard Comely appeared at this year's Ottawa Comiccon. If you don't know who Richard Comely is -- he's the creator of Captain Canuck. Captain Canuck (published by Comely Comix) first appeared from 1975 to 1981 in his own self-titled series, took a brief hiatus, and resurfaced again in 1993 under the Semple Comics imprint. Captain Canuck was probably on par with Captain America as far as being considered a patriotic/national symbol was concerned -- this went a long was since Canada didn't have much of a presence in DC or Marvel comics (unless you count Marvel's Alpha Flight or Wolverine originating from Canada). Comely casually mentioned to us that Captain Canuck had been licensed out to Chapterhouse Comics and will be appearing in many more comics in the future. I don't believe he's drawing or writing the title(s) anymore, but I do believe he is being regarded as a creative consultant for these projects.

Richard Comely in center

The actual event -- Saturday:

With an attendance of 42,000 visitors, it's not surprising that Ottawa Comicon needed to turn a grassy field across the street from the venue into a makeshift parking lot on Saturday. We arrived around noon and had to park in said field, and took a shuttle bus to the front doors of the convention. Immediately upon arrival, I was told that if I hurried I could make it to the John Barrowman Q&A, which apparently had everyone in stitches. I could not make it in time. All attendees told me that Barrowman puts on a great show and it's worth the price of admission to see him in a panel.

John Barrowman bio photo. Courtesy of Ottawa Comiccon media relations team.

Speaking of Barrowman, if you're a fan of the DC-themed TV shows, both Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham) and Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, Supergirl) appeared on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale, was on site for a Q&A, autographs and photographs. In case you were wondering -- no, we didn't interview any of them.

Here's a PRO TIP for you: the best way to get the most for your money at ANY comic convention is to try to sit in for every panel you possibly can. A lot of attendees don't realize that half the fun is sitting in on Q&A sessions with actors, actresses, creators and general persons of interest. Most attendees pay the full admission fee without realizing there's a programming schedule full of Q&A sessions, panel discussions, workshops, etc.  I implore you -- check these programming guides and see what is available to you. You will be delightfully surprised. I, personally, missed a panel discussion with Chapterhouse Comics and a Q&A with John Cusack because I misread the programming guide and thought it was going to occur later in the afternoon than it actually did. Live and learn.

There was a variety of creative cosplay this year, and we tried to snap as many pics as we could. Last year, in connection to the upcoming Suicide Squad film, we saw a lot of Harley Quinn cosplay. We still saw a lot of Harley Quinn cosplay this year, but we also saw a bit more diversity with an emphasis on Wonder Woman and Teen Titans cosplay. For some reason, Aquaman was a popular theme this year (probably something to do with the Jason Momoa Aquaman film coming out next year). Batman and Batman-related characters (ex: Joker, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Riddler) are always a hit and were seen in full force this year.

TITANS TOGETHER! Photo source: Adrian K

Shazam! vs Black Adam

Amazons looking very stoic and proud

JLA family (includes baby Robin)

Dawn of Justice armored Batman and Babs Batgirl. Photo source: Adrian K

cosplay from my favorite Batman movie ever

Batman and Damian Wayne

We couldn't resist taking a few pics of Marvel cosplay we thought was pretty nifty:

Spider-Man, Deadpools, Cable and Angela [?]. Photo source: Adrian K.

Jean Grey Phoenix. Photo source: Adrian K

Dr Strange and Black Knight. Ty Templeton in background. Photo source: Adrian K.

X-Factor's Polaris. Photo source: Adrian K.

Cosplay you probably won't recognize if you're under the age of 35:

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots (at first I thought they were cosplaying Tron)

Cosplay you probably won't recognize if you're over the age of 35:

Ms Frizzle from The Magic School Bus cartoon. photo source: Adrian K

Rick of Rick and Morty. Photo source: Adrian K.

This year's Ottawa Comiccon offered lots of panels on cosplaying including such popular hits like Electronics for Cosplay 101, Level Up your Cosplay Makeup, Cosplay on a Budget, Cosplay Masquerade Basics, The Business of Cosplay (featuring Indra Rojas), How Special FX Makeup can work for you, Female to Male Crossplay Dress-up, and Dyeing and Painting Fabric for Cosplay. (I wasn't kidding when I said Ottawa Comiccon was extremely cosplay friendly). Furthermore, there was a designated Cosplay Lounge (for cosplayers to unwind and make adjustments to costumes) and lots of signage about Cosplay & Consent (which is very forward-thinking on behalf of the convention organizing committee). Above all, Ottawa Comiccon wanted to make sure it was a safe place for cosplayers.


When we're not trying to get interviews or taking photos of cosplayers, we're typically walking the floor taking pics of whatever interests us and conversing with vendors and fans. Often, I enjoy looking up the 80s toys I owned and finding out how much they go for today. I like to imagine how much my toys would have been worth had I saved them in the box and never opened them. I'm glad I didn't, because that would've led to a pretty lame childhood.

The coveted Super Powers Collection from the mid-80s still fetches a fair price.

The DC Super Heroes action figures from the late 80s were slightly more affordable.

Loose figs are probably the best way to go. Many of them were in various conditions, and if you didn't know what you were buying, you may have ended up with a fig missing an accessory.

Another item that caught my eye was this diorama on display in the Endalyon booth. It got my attention because it looked like one of those cool, elaborate 3D board games that were so popular in the mid-to-late 80s.

Endalyon's display. photo source: Adrian K

A quick chat with the owner, Dylan Montgomerie, revealed that it's actually part of a tabletop strategy game released by Knight Models. It's actually a Batman Miniatures Game that is celebrating its fifth anniversary. I'm a big fan of tabletop strategy games involving DC characters, so I will definitely be following up with Montgomerie for more information about this game in the near future.

Batman Miniatures Game up close. photo source: Adrian K

Another exhibit that I found noteworthy: Glitch Artwork had a booth in Artist Alley that sold shadowbox art displays of scenes from my favorite NES games. I spoke to the artist, and he told me that the individual pieces were cut out of foamcore with a laser printer and then assembled to created a 3D diorama.

These pics really don't do them justice, so I'd recommend checking out their Facebook page for better views of their work. In a way, they kind of reminded me of Todd Reis' excellent 3D shadowbox dioramas (which are a highly coveted item among silver age comic book collectors).


By now it's no secret that I have an unusual fascination with trading cards. My big acquisitions from this event were the 1994 Sandman widevision set I've been seeking for a while. From a 'what hell, this looks interesting' perspective, I picked up a Topps Robocop 2 set (complete with stickers), a 1993 trading card set commemorating Starlog magazine, a complete set (minus the checklist) of those trading cards Marvel was including in their 1993 Annuals (introducing BRAND NEW characters) and a mysterious DC Who's Who trading card set I was previously unaware of until I stumbled upon them at this convention.

I've pretty much collected all of the card sets on my 'MUST HAVE' list, and am now just picking up whatever looks interesting to me. If it's a DC cereal box insert from the 1980s, or a promotional card set that was offered with a magazine (or a household product), there's a good chance that I'm all over it. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the items I managed to find at the Ottawa Comiccon vendor tables and now have more cannon fodder for future trading card reviews.

All the cool stuff I picked up at this year's Ottawa Comiccon

This pretty much wraps up our review of the 2017 Ottawa Comiccon. Due to Mother's Day, I was only able to attend Friday and Saturday -- but judging from the turnout from those two days I have no doubt that Sunday was just as packed. I really look forward to see what Ottawa Comiccon brings to the table next year, as I feel this year's event was extremely successful.

I want to thank Leeja Murphy and all of her beautiful & talented staff from Agence Pink for all of their hard work in marketing and coordinating this event.

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Starlog magazine

I'm going to switch gears for a minute and talk about the 1993 Starlog: The Science Fiction Universe trading card set I picked up (because I'll probably never get another chance to talk about these again). I had no clue these existed until I saw them on a vendor's table in the $5 pile.

For anyone who doesn't know, Starlog magazine was one of the few reliable sources that gave you info about upcoming sci-fi movies during the pre-internet days of the 80s. Since nobody was really giving extensive coverage to comic book movies (and you could argue that they were considered 'sci-fi' as well), Starlog was covering those, too.

I don't remember the first time I ever saw a Starlog magazine -- it may have been sold in specialty bookstores among a few other magazines aimed at niche audiences -- but I do remember it's sister publication, Fangoria. Fangoria was a magazine that focused on horror films, and all the older (aka 'cooler') kids in the neighborhood were into horror films, so I'd often catch glimpses of various Fangoria issues trading hands. At the time, I was too squeamish for horror films, so I was kind of horrified by them. This is no longer the situation. [As of this writing I just discovered there's a Fangoria trading card set from 1993 floating around out there. Note to self: got to get these.]

Fangoria #64 (1987). As a kid, this cover would've terrified me

Anyways, to make a long story short, before Wizard Magazine and *other* comic book magazines started over-saturating the newsstands in the early 90s, if you wanted insider info on a new comic book themed movie coming out, Starlog was IT.  I do remember the Starlog issue with Michael Keaton as Batman on the cover. This was right around the time Batmania was starting to invade North America and we were all getting excited for the new 1989 Tim Burton Batman film. I think my neighbor owned this issue because I do remember thumbing through it quite often, but don't actually have it in my collection.

Starlog magazine #142 (1989)

While Starlog was mad legit as far as film/sci-fi journalism went, it was rather expensive at the time. Sure, those covers were really eye-catching and enticing, but for $4.50 CAD I could've purchased two or three DC or Marvel comics. Other than the cover feature, there was probably a good chance I wouldn't read the rest of the magazine. Yes, this is why I didn't collect Starlog when I was 10 years old. My best bet scenario would've been to have had an older sibling or cousin who collected them, and who would've let me borrow their issues when I wanted. Alas, no dice.

Things have changed -- I now recognize that Starlog played an important role in building comic book and sci-fi fandom. I should probably mention that didn't *just* cover films, but sci-fi fandom in general -- this included interviews with artists/directors/actors, reviews of sci-fi books and tv shows, comic book updates, and convention announcements (among other things). Starlog magazine was also notorious for having ads to some of the coolest and most obscure sci-fi/fantasy trinkets and collectibles you never even imagined:

ad from Starlog #76 (1983)

On a more nerdy note, you really had to give Starlog props for being a fanzine that actually 'made it' and had an actual subscription base, was being sold in stores, was 'mostly' full color and was actually reputable (as opposed to being xerox'd in someone's dank basement and being mailed out in non-descriptive envelopes). It goes to show that there was a market out there for magazines that discussed the coming and goings of sci-fi fandom, and it could actually be lucrative. I'd probably consider Starlog to be the golden standard of what I hope DC in the 80s/Baxter Stock could become.

full-color interior pages from Starlog magazine #119 (1987)

SO, all this to say, you can probably understand why I HAD to own this trading card set as soon as I saw it. Getting down to the details: this trading card set consisted of 100 trading cards (not including the 6 checklist cards, 4 space art promo cards, 2 holograms or the 5 Star Trek mail-in cards) and had a slick glossy feel to them. I initially thought these Starlog trading cards were inserts included in the magazine, but apparently they were sold in packs of nine. You probably guessed it -- the hologram chase cards are Star Trek themed.

The trading cards themselves are a nice trip down memory lane featuring all of those aforementioned 'catchy' covers of Starlog magazine. I'm guessing these covers were chosen by the editors? Either way, all the good ones are here. I've compiled a collection of cards that showcased DC-themed covers:

collection of 1993 Starlog trading cards. do you remember any of these covers/issues?

The front of the card has an image of a Starlog Magazine cover. On the reverse? A puzzle piece for an art scene, of course. You can tell that World Class Marketing (the company that published these cards) were doing their best impression of a Topps trading card set (complete with HUGE 25 card puzzles) -- but with glossy fronts and backs.

Front and reverse of a 1993 Starlog trading card

What did the card backs form to create? One of several puzzles featuring kool space art fantastic images (see below). Okay, I'm lying -- I really would have preferred the card backs joined to recreate a huge Starlog magazine cover -- but I guess you can't win 'em all, right?

kool Space Art Fantastic art. artist unknown

Looking back through these cards reminds me of all the big blockbuster movies of my youth (i.e. Robocop, Indiana Jones, Gremlins, Ghostbusters II, etc) and brings back a sudden pang of nostalgia for when you actually had to buy your film news off the stands. I really like how crisp and vibrant the colors on these cards turned out, and I was overall impressed with the quality. As mentioned, I will be seeking out that Fangoria trading card set.


-Justin

Thanks to Adrian K for accompanying me as my photographer for this event.