“Lantern City” is a ground breaking, steampunk show with top stars in the industry in a snazzy, steampunk setting.
“Lantern City” is in a world parallel to our earth and it is despotic, totalitarian city-state ruled by the Grey family. The first of the Grey family to rule Lantern City was Isaac Foster Grey who led the city in building walls around the city and setting up military forces to withstand an onslaught that was coming from the north. After saving the city and the refugees who had sought its safety Mr. Grey accepted continued rule over the city and passed it on to his son.
They will be bringing Mira Furlan, Mr. Boxleitner’s former Babylon 5 co-star, to play the descendant of the original emperor, Martha Grey.
A bit of news not yet on IMDB is that Gigi Edgley from Farscape, will be playing a role, likely that of Rachel Kierson (Correction: She will be playing the role of Naomi Jones, a rival to Rachel Kierson at Virginie Durand’s finishing school.)
For this and more, scroll down and check out the video interview!
White Cap Comics
430 Cummings Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49534
(616) 785-8518
and
The Outer Limits
1120 Burton SW
Wyoming, MI 49509
(616) 452-1348
Special Free Comics Day editions of your favorite comics from Superman to Star Wars to Sesame Street, Sponge Bob, and the Smurfs! Many more titles (that was just some of the “S” category! X-)
Also check out the Dragons Maze Launch Party at White Cap Comics!
Shane Moore is a former police officer and the author of a number of books including the fantasy “Abyss Walker” series and the Zombie Apocalypse novel, “The Apocalypse of Enoch.” Shane and I recently crossed paths at Wizard World Comic Con in St. Louis, Mo and later connected via email for an interview.
John Collins (JC): Thanks for agreeing to do a written interview with me Shane!
Shane Moore (SM): No worries. I enjoy your website.
(JC): Could you tell my readers a bit about your background and how you got into Writing?
(SM) I am a former police officer and on Sept 11th 2004, I was stabbed in the line of duty while taking a suspect into custody. I developed Night Terrors as a result of PTSD. This began to cause anxiety and insomnia. I discovered that a beer before I went to bed relaxed me. It didn’t take long before one beer became two–two became four… It didn’t take a genius to see this was going to be a problem. I didn’t want to get hooked on sleeping pills either. One friend suggested I write poetry. She said that when she was feeling upset poetry helped her get her feelings out.
As a 230 pound meathead police officer, I was NOT going to write poetry. So, I decided to write about a passion–medieval fantasy! By 2006 I had my first contract and by 2008 I had enough success I retired from law enforcement and started writing full time.
Image courtesy Shane Moore
(JC): Tell us about your current projects.
(SM) I have many open contracts. Everything from a contract from Kissell Studios (A-Team/Army of 2 from IDW) to turn my end of days rapture based zombie thriller that they are turning into a graphic novel series to Gary Gygax’s company partner Troll Lord Games who are turning my best selling fantasy world into a 9 book RPG table top expansion to their Castles and Crusades system.
Image courtesy Shane Moore
(JC): Where do you plan to go from here?
(SM) A major Film would be the creme de la creme. I have recently broken into comics and table top games. I expect to do toys and other ventures soon, but film would be the pinnacle.
Image courtesy Shane Moore
(JC): I also write for my website The Weird Review and like to close my interviews by inviting my interviewees to tell something weird and wonderful about themselves.
(SM) Wonderful? Hmmmm Well, I’m pretty happy with me. Many people are surprised to learn that I grew up pretty rough. My name was changed when I was six and I ran away and was homeless as a teenager. I lived in my car over a year while in college. I think people get too caught up in poor me instead of developing a willingness to do what it takes to succeed. If success were easy, everyone would be having it.
Image courtesy Shane Moore
(JC): Do you have anything additional you would like to add?
(SM) The thing that is really taking off for me is my end of days rapture based zombie thriller “The Apocalypse of Enoch.” It came out last June and has been my publisher’s number one best seller and spawned a 1000+ zombie fighting fan group known as ZOD - the Zombification Orientation and Defense. The group is free to join and loads of cosplay fun. Several of my celeb friends are members including Matt Hill (Cartoon Network voice actor), Terry Naughton (17 year Disney animator), and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from Star Wars).
(JC): WOW! That’s awesome! I will look forward to seeing ZOD members sprouting up at cons everywhere! Thanks again for the interview! I am looking forward to seeing where all this takes you. Keep in touch!
(SM) Thanks for having me. The Weird Review is awesome and I’m a huge fan!
Many conventions have costume contests for the adults and some will have a children’s portion in their costume contest, Wizard World Comic Cons have a special contest set aside just for the kids on Sunday afternoon.
Superman high fives a junior hero as he exits the stage
Even though this was the first year for Wizard World in St Louis, there were more kids in the costume contest than they have at the adult costume competitions at some events.
A young Dr. Who loves the stage
This young Dr. Who basked in the adulation of the crowd but when the contest was over and he was taken to claim his prize he was crying. His mother said, “He wants to be back on the stage!” as the camera flashed. The fellow is a natural going from tears to “Cheers!” in a flash.
In additon to the multiple Dr. Who cosplayers the Tardis joined the scene
The Wizard World Childrens’ costume contest prize table
The judges at the Wizard World costume contests tend to be a bit indecisive as the contests consistently result in a tie for first place with no losers.
Some of the 40+ winners selecting their prize for first place
Fortunately they had a Super stock boy keeping the table filled as the winners selected their prizes.
Don’t get trapped, come to International Tabletop Game Day!
On Saturday March 30th, 2013 around the nation and across the globe men, women, and children will be gathering at their favorite, local game stores for the International Table Top Game Day to play their favorite and soon to be favorite games! International Table Top Game Day is the brain child and passion of well known actor, gamer geek extraordinaire, and creator of the hit Youtube show “Tabletop”, Wil Wheaton, and falls on the one year anniversary of his show “Tabletop”.
The show promotes taking the time to set aside our cell phones, iPads, laptops, and to sit down and interact with real live people over a tabletop game. Dice and counting games are a great way for kids to learn to count. Miniature games are great for learning strategy, and roleplaying games are great for learning social interaction as well as acting skills. Games teach kids of all ages to interact, reason, and grow intellectually while having a great time.
Enjoy the International Tabletop Game Day but please stay off the tabletops!
This year on International Tabletop Game Day Felicia Day‘s Geek and Sundry will be broadcasting live and one hundred stores will be streaming their events live and will be contacted by one of the Geek and Sundry folks during the day. The Weird Review will be at one of those premium locations, White Cap Comics at 430 Cummings Avenue NW Grand Rapids, MI 49534 where folks will be sharing the table top love with Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day through photos and video.
For the Western Michigan Cosplayers, this is the weekend before Shuto Con so it would be a great time to try out your new cosplay or say good-bye to an old one with one last appearance (just keep it family friendly as there will be children present!)
So come on out to White Cap Comics and join the world in a game from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday March 30th!
While at Her Royal Majesty’s Steampunk Symposium I had the pleasure of interviewing actor and screen writer Jimmy Diggs.
Mr. Diggs was a screen writer for the Star Trek Series Deep Space Nine and Voyager and is now coming out with a Steampunk TV/Web series called Crypto-Historians.
The premise of Crypto-Historians is that the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and others were true. The crypto-historians use the time travelling technology of Mr. Verne and Mr. Tesla to trouble shoot time space anomalies and other problematic issues such as the “War of the Worlds” Martian invasion.
Screen writer, actor, and crypto-historian, Jimmy Diggs
Check out the interview through to the end and you will see why I told him that he had one of the most interesting and unusual answers to my last interview question!
Larry Elmore’s Kickstarter is over with an amazing ending
At 11:00 a.m. on 12/31/2012 Larry Elmore’s Kickstarter project, “Larry Elmore: The Complete Elmore Artbook (Hardback)” came to an amazing end.
His project became the second highest funded project in Kickstarter’s Publishing category.
Mr. Elmore’s project raised $299,914, well beyond his goal of $17,500. Mr. Elmore said, “The Kickstarter is OVER and it was crazy!!! I can’t believe it, it was so FANTASTIC! I thank ALL of you for the unbelievable support!!!” and “this Kickstarter Campaign, it has overwhelmed me, surpassed my wildest dreams and left me very humbled.”
The Kickstarter rewards ranged from a hand drawn “Dragon Doodle” for $25 to the original artwork for the book that went for $10,000 and which has yet to be painted.
Folks that kicked in for Mr. Elmore’s book which will cover forty years of his fantasy artwork can look forward to seeing the book with a projected date of August of 2013.
Those that missed out on the Kickstarter but who still want the book can purchase a limited edition retail copy of the book can get it for the retail price of $80 through his website. This version won’t come with the additional Kickstarter bonuses and it will be limited to 250 copies and the offer ends on January 31, 2013 so don’t delay if you missed the Kickstarter and have a Happy New Year!
Danny just graduated from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas in May and had it online and racking up hits in July and it has been quite a hit. So I had to put a few bucks into seeing what they can do with a little more time and money. Then I contacted Danny, AKA Ismahawk (his X-Box Live gamer tag meaning Hawk Assassin when he created it at 15) for an interview.
John Collins (JC): Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself sir.
Danny Shepherd (DS): I graduated film school in May of 2012 and immediately partnered up with my best friend, Jeremy Le. We began making short films and scenes for my youtube channel, Ismahawk. In July 2012 only a few months after graduating we shot, edited, and, released a Nightwing fan film by the name of Batman: Nightwing, in only three days. It received quite a bit of praise and reached over 1,000,000 views. Jeremy and I are currently working as full time, youtube partners. A local studio here in Las Vegas, MG Studio, took notice of our ambition and offered to help produce a 3 part web series focusing on Nightwing.
(JC): Very cool! Tell us a bit more about your Nightwing series.
(DS): Nightwing: The Series follows the story of Batman’s ex-sidekick Dick Grayson. After a falling out with his former mentor, Dick abandons his role as Robin and sets off to become his own man in the city of Bludhaven. The series will be three parts and feature some cameo appearances from heroes and villains from the Batman’s Universe. While we plan on staying true to many elements from the comics, we are still taking heavy inspiration from Batman: Arkham City, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and also the Batman animated series’.
(JC): What are your plans beyond Nightwing: The Series?
(DS): Nightwing: The Series is a non-profit, fan film, so it’s just being made for fun! But we definitely hope our work here will open some doors down the line for making full blown films. Hey you never know, maybe DC will get behind us and help us make more of the series for youtube or maybe even tv!
(JC): I wish you well on that and am looking forward to getting my copy of the DVD! Now, I like to close my interviews with giving my interviewee the opportunity to tell my audience something weird and wonderful about themselves. Do you have anything you would like to share?
(DS): Hmm. Something weird..I’m super, mega, lactose intolerant. Any dairy will make me deathly ill! Weird enough?
(JC): Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview and I will look forward to seeing more from you and your team in the future. In the meantime beware the Wisconsin Gouda ninjas with the milk bombs!
Larry Elmore is an amazing artist, one of the top in the fantasy art field. For years his work has graced the covers of books, magazines, and the homes and offices of the rich and shameless as well as the bedrooms, dens, and gaming dungeons of gamer geeks like me.
He is also a man with a kind and gentle spirit who, while working in the corporate environment, longed to follow his own dreams and desires in his art rather than forcing his creative energies into the corporate box. Larry has now broken out of the box and he is following the vision and passion of his art.
I have had the pleasure of chatting with Larry at conventions such as Wizard World and Gen Con and more recently on the set of Brother’s Barbarian where he plays the Old Wizard. Larry has a lot going on between his painting and the book he is working on but he agreed to take out the time for an interview with me.
John Collins (JC): Thanks taking the time to do an interview with me Larry! It was a pleasure to see you when I visited the set of Brothers Barbarian earlier this Fall and it is great to catch up with you. I loved Brothers Barbarian Season One but I have to ask, did your character ever learn to teleport his clothes or will season two also see you hiding in the bushes?
Larry Elmore (LE): Well, I think it will be better. More dangerous (whooooaaaaa!!!) I have to carry around that dang puppet dragon a lot and it weighs over twenty pounds at the least (that is MY opinion).
(JC): I got a Facebook invite to like your SnarfQuest fan page earlier today. Tell me what is happening with SnarfQuest?
(LE): Snarfquest? I will be running a story in the magazine, Knights of The Dinner Table. I started a story back around 2000-01, in a little known magazine called Games Unplugged. About 6 or 8 episodes were published and the magazine was sold and shortly stopped printing. I never got to finish the story, I just got into it and this fall I agreed with Jolly Blackburn (KOTDT) that I would go ahead and finish that story in their magazine. Then I hope in a year or so that I can do a Kickstarter on a totally new 48-64 page graphic novel. Many many people have ask me to do that over the years at conventions and emails, but it is not economically feasible for me. It would take months to do a totally new color book with that many pages. And I can’t take six months or so to do the book without getting paid. If I could raise enough money to live off of while doing a new Snarfquest Graphic Novel, then I could handle that! I think it would be a fun project.
(JC): I’ve heard rumors that you are coming out with a new book. Can you tell me about that?
(LE): Yes, with the kickstarter project that I am now running (ends Dec.31st), I will (and have already) raise enough money to do a big hardback book of almost all my art I have created during my career. It is a book for my fans and my grandchildren. I have done a lot of paintings during my career and I have high resolution scans of about 90%. Some paintings are lost to me, no way to reproduce them, but I am going to try to get about everything in one book. It will be the story of my life and career, I plan on putting in the first painting I ever tried to paint (my mom still had that one)–and it sucks!!! But I will be showing the good ones, bad ones and the UGLY! LOL! Throw it all in there. Right now you can purchase the book on Kickstarter for $49–when this Kickstarter project ends the book will cost a lot more. The book will not be put into circulation, you can buy it from me at the conventions I attend or through my website, I will print about a thousand extra copies that I will sell at a retail price around $80. The book will be a 336 page hardback and I will have it printed here in the old USA the BEST I POSSIBLY CAN!!!
(JC): What sort of incentives do you have going for those that kick in on your Kickstarter?
(LE): If you support the Kickstarter project, then you can get everything from the basic book, up to a leather bound hardback… Some stretch goals include prints of three D&D paintings, prints of the first three Dragonlance covers, sketches included, drawings included, and even riding your motorcycle to my house for a studio tour and we ride our bikes on some crooked and hilly Kentucky back roads. We have thrown in everything but the kitchen sink… I hope I have a little money left when this is over.
(JC): This is awesome news! I am looking forward to seeing it once it is out! Say hi to your lovely wife for me and I will look forward to seeing you at Gen Con if not sooner!
(LE): Sure, I will be at Gencon and Dragoncon for sure. I also plan on being at the Emerald City convention in Seattle in a few months. Hey, thanks for the interview, you guys take it easy and stay out of trouble.
May 21st thru the 23rd. ONLY. Magic Booster pack special. 5 packs for $13.33tx DragonMaze, Gatecrash, Return to Ravnica & M13. Mix and match
6 hours ago
May 15th. 6 p.m. D&D Encounters. Free to play all are welcome and we have open tables come and join in the fun.
1 week ago
May 15th. 6 p.m. HeroClix League. New Teen Titans set out today.!!! come join the fun and sanctioned prizes are given:-)
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May 10th. 6:30 p.m. Magic FNM:-) Standard and Draft formats. Standard is free to play and sanctioned prizes are given for both formats.
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May 10th. 5:30 p.m. Pokemon League. Draft format. it's a new set so come join the fun.
2 weeks ago
May 8th. 6:30 p.m. WOW Card League moved back to Wednesdays. Come join the fun:-)
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May 8th. 6:30 p.m. HeroClix League. free to play and sanction prizes given. come tonight and get the Free Comic Book Day Iron Man figure.
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May 8th. D&D Encounters 6 p.m. come join in it's free just bring yourself and have a great time playing D&D
2 weeks ago
@thistle_seed no they were not randomized. Charlie's Ants is a sweet story & I really like D&D! Hope you liked your free comic & glad u came
2 weeks ago
Bruce Boxleitner & Trevor Crafts: a new ‘Lantern City’ cast member is announced, read it here: http://whit...
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