My first Metro Times article on Detroit’s new police chief

I wrote the first part!:

http://metrotimes.com/news/news-hits/law-order-detroit-1.1492951

Creative Continuity in association with Fanboy Buzz and Bestow Productions presents Rod Reis and Kenneth Rocafort

Creative Continuity: Dirk Manning & Unshaven Comics

SuperPowerCast 11: SPC2.0/My return to SuperPowerCast

SuperPowerCast 11: SPC2.0.

Creative Continuity C2E2 Introduction in association with Bestow Productions

Creative Continuity: My interview with Doug Mahnke in association with Bestow Productions

The Fate of Superman’s Two Sets of Parents and Civil War in “Man of Steel”

The Fate of Superman’s Two Sets of Parents and Civil War in “Man of Steel”.

My experience and thoughts on C2E2 this year in Chicago

C2E2 was another great weekend this time around. Though I was surprised DC Comics did not have a booth nor had some of its biggest stars like Geoff Johns and Scott Snyder, I still nonetheless had a good time while working to get some great interviews with writers, artists, cosplayers and stars.

My journey began in the morning on the train. I woke up at 6 in the morning to get there by 6:50 when it left the station. However, it did not end up being the case. I was waiting there until about 7:30 when the train decided to finally leave its destination for Chicago. I slept most of the way, and could not complain with having no one sitting next to me. Though it was an uncomfortable sleep, it was a sleep nonetheless. It was especially nice since I had gotten home late from one of my final exams, and did not get much since I needed to be up so early the next morning.

When I woke up, as clichéd as it might sound, I could see Chicago. Though I was still in apocalyptic Indiana, I saw the Chicago Skyline. It is always an amazing and inspiring sight to see it from a far, and guarantee yourself you will be a part of that scene quite soon. It came pretty quick when I got off, ran to get a cab and was sooner than I knew at my hotel laying down to relax before con time hit me.

Yet, it was not merely an hour before I was off to C2E2 with my friend Alex Ross Jr [or AR JR for short]. He is a very talented artist at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and will one day make millions. I will be a poor destitute writer while he is a big shot out in Hollywood or somewhere. Friday was the day where I was able to get my books signed, meet other writers and artists and basically be a fan boy. It was not until the next day that I would be actually working.

When my friends and associates Paul Sanders and Alex Sanders finally decided to get into town, it was late Friday night. We relaxed and caught up but I then let them know we would be interviewing some DC people the next day along with the editor in chief at Dark Horse. They were immediately ready and prepared for the next day. No sleeping in was allowed when we had to get our butts down by 11 o’clock in the morning.

After talking with Doug Mahnke, now the departing artist on Green Lantern, we were off to the floor and artist’s alley. Probably my favorite person we interviewed was our savior himself [saving for surprise]. Yes, [no peeking]. He was there on the floor, and was able to speak to me about life, the afterlife and his new life at comic conventions. It was quite a strange place to meet him but what can I say, I was honored. We quickly moved though into artist’s alley.

I was able to speak with the likes of Kenneth Rocafort, Rod Reis, Jimmy Palmiotti (when he returned back from being elusive), Amanda Conner and many others. After walking around, standing and kneeling to do interviews all day, my feet were tired, and I needed to give them a rest. The night could not come soon enough.

Yet, it would not be the end of my feet’s struggles when I made my way with my associates to the Willis Tower. Alex Ross Jr. had to depart after a nice stop at State Street Pizza because he had to get back to creating his next Mona Lisa. Life’s busy for the hungry artist like him but though we were sad, we did not let that stop us.

We waited in the longest line (one of them) ever seen in history. My feet were screaming out for air until my ears started popping on the way up to one of the highest points in the western hemisphere. When we finally arrived, my two friends kept saying they could see my house in Michigan from where we were. Though I do not live on the west side and they have never been to the east side where I live, they somehow had some intuitive instinct that revealed to them the truth of the matter. For all fair disclosure though, I did live in Kalamazoo one year which is indeed on the west side of the state but nowhere near the border with Indiana which they had intuitively spotted.

The next day came sadly. We had the deadline in sight but it did not mean we could not interview some more folks. I was surrounded by a bunch of weird kids who for some reason thought it was appropriate to dress up in Adventure Time costumes. Weirded out I was when a weird kid kept touching me…. Yes, I wanted to call the cops after he did it again when I asked him to stop. With all the nagging I received for hating My Little Pony which my cohorts loved for some reason which was probably the most annoying thing. I was able to speak earlier with Brian Azzarello in an awesome interview about Wonder Woman and to Chris Burnham on his future after Batman Incorporated. Both were fun to do, and I was appreciative to Alex Segura for setting them up. I also talked with Eric Powell, thanks to Dark Horse’s Aub Driver who also set up the one from the other day, and touch base with artists Scottie Young and Christopher Jones.

As the day came to an end, I stopped by to speak with one of the Pirates of the Caribbean stars who played by Kevin McNally. It was pretty damn awesome to meet an actor who has been in all four of the films who was able to share some stories with us about his involvement in it and what is coming next for him.

Afterwards, I rushed myself back to Union Station in a hurry only to get there extra early but to secure myself as close to first in line for a seat. That coming after my debit card stopped working for some reason, and I had to run across the street to a CVS Pharmacy take out money to pay my cab driver. What a day that was when I was finally able to board the train and be on my way back home.

Link:
https://www.facebook.com/tommy.zimmer.71?ref=tn_tnmn#!/notes/bestow-productions/the-fanboy-in-chicago-by-tommy-zimmer/502985419766555

Justice League of America, Thoughts

Justice League of America, Thoughts.

When JLA first came out….. my second editorial for The Comic Book Syndicate, my new job!

All in the Family: Thoughts on Batman’s big ‘DEATH OF THE FAMILY’ Event

All in the Family: Thoughts on Batman’s big ‘DEATH OF THE FAMILY’ Event.

What did not happen but could have……