Sunday Fly-By to Emerald City Comicon 2015--The Shopping Spree

(Image:  Emerald City Comicon 2015 Banner)

After our Jimmy Johns lunch break, Alex & I returned to The Show Floor for our shopping spree.  We revisited booths that interested us during our initial walkabout.  Alex bought a T-shirt and several postcards and prints.

Meanwhile, I blew my budget on a bunch of books, games and artwork.

Books:

(Image:  New books!)

The first author I revisited was Brad Guigar.  I was hoping to start off my Evil Inc collection with a signed copy of his Annual Report (Vol 1).  But no such luck.  Volumes 1 & 2 of were sold out and Brad said he'll be compiling the first three Annual Reports into an omnibus.  So I picked up Vol 3, pictured above, which Brad not only signed, but drew a quick sketch for me.  (As I wrote this I got on Amazon.com and ordered Annual Report Volumes 1 & 2).

One author/artist team Alex & I stumbled across during our initial walk-through was Ben Thompson and Manny Vega creators of Badass of the Week.  

I've loved reading military history since I was a pre-teen.  However, even books about bloody battles can be boring to read.  Not to mention how history is taught in our K-12 education system.

From my preliminary inspection, Ben Thompson dispels the doldrums with a pulp-fiction style of narrative, while Manny Vega's art adds comic book-style action.  So I bought two books:  Badass and Badass: Ultimate Deathmatch. 

Games: 

As a wargamer, and a role-player, I found several items that I immediately put on my Must Buy List.  

(Image:  Game supplements and a Badass card game!)

The first item was the Badass Team's card game Spades & Grenades, which came complete with a Badass Handbook. (Ben & Manny signed all my books and the handbook).

I was happy to see a Flying Frog Productions booth in the Gaming Area on Level 2.  Copies of all their games were available for sale including their new one--Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients.  Not only that, but they had a plethora of convention-exclusive/mail-order-only supplements for the following games I just happen to own:  Last Night on Earth, A Touch of Evil and Fortune and Glory.  

There were five scenario supplements for Last Night on Earth, along with a campaign deck and a pack of radioactive zombies.  I bought all the supplements available for A Touch of Evil, and Fortune and Glory (two each).  However, I only bought one of the Last Night on Earth scenario supplements, along with the campaign deck and radioactive zombies.

Which scenario to buy wasn't a hard choice for me.  As a retired TACP member, there was no way I was going to pass up the new Airstrike Supplement:

(Image:  A closer look at LNoE's Airstrike Supplement)

Artwork: 

There were plenty of books I wanted to buy, but shelf space in our house is becoming a rare commodity.  There is however, a lot of empty areas on our walls.  So I figured some additional artwork was just décor our home needed:

(Image:  Various prints & things)

Starting with the top-right section of the above photo, I revisited Ron Randall and bought a large print of Mercy St. Clair (aka Trekker).  Ron also gave me a signed Trekker post card.  Right below the Trekker prints is a Player vs. Player (PvP) game mat/large mouse pad, I bought during my revisit to Scott Kurtz's booth.

As to the two Firefly postcards to the right of the game mat, I'm afraid I can't remember who I bought them from.  Alex & I were hustling alone, when I spotted them, grabbed a copy of each one and paid cash.  Despite my haste, I did notice this booth sold Claddagh Rings and showed the cashier my own Claddagh wedding ring.

Even though my entertainment focus is predominantly military/action/adventure, I've found myself enjoying some of the slice-of-life stories out there.

One of the first I stumbled across was Girls With Slingshots, by Danielle Corsetto.  Sadly Danielle ended "GWS," to take an art class, but I told Danielle I liked how she concluded the series.  She's now re-posting the early strips in full color.

Reading webcomics can truly be a trip down the rabbit hole.  Once I got hooked on GWS, I was then introduced to another slice-of-life comic Questionable Content (QC), by Jeph Jacques. I complimented Jeph on his work and explained to Alex that often ventures into near-future sci-fi, which feature some android characters and a space station. 

My wife and I seem to live by dry-erase boards.  So I thought Jeph's "Angry Bird Board" would be a great addition to our collection:

(Image:  Jeph Jacques' Angry Bird as a dry erase board)

"Angry Bird" makes his (her?) appearance with snarky comments on Holidays, or when Jeph is travelling, ill or somehow indisposed to post a comic. 

The Angry Bird Board came with a marker and magnets.  However, our refrigerator already has a dry-erase board, and besides, I had other plans for Angry Bird.  I tried sticking it the door to my studio with double-sided tape.  Either the tape was too old, or wimpy and the board dropped after a few minutes.  So I'm hoping the heavy-duty double-sided tape I just bought will do the trick.

I'll also be on a quest to find suitable frames for the prints I bought--not only from this year's ECCC--but from the 2013 convention that I just re-discovered in a storage box.  (After I attended the 2013 ECCC, my wife and I got married and then we moved).

Meanwhile, I've had no problem finding a spot for the PvP giant mouse pad...

(Image:  My new PvP mouse pad)

...along with a final word from Jeph's Angry Bird:

Sunday Fly-By to the Emerald City Comicon 2015--Obtaining Authors' Autographs

(Image:  Emerald City Comicon 2015 Banner)

Attending any comic book convention provides fans with a great opportunity to meet the artists, writers and celebrities they admire--and obtain their autographs.  

Prior to my one-day attendance, I poured over the Exhibitors and Artist Alley sections of the ECCC website and compared the list with the books I already own.  

Or, I at least tried to.

Anyway; when Alex and I met, I told him my initial goal was to get the five books I had in my backpack autographed by the writers currently attending.  Doing this in a walkabout fashion would also get us familiar with the convention layout.

The ECCC website provides a nice page of the show floor.  However, it's one thing to gaze at cut-away views and maps with numbered boxes and rectangles, and quite another to navigate the actual floor-space crowded with cosplayers and the casually-dressed.

Our recon took over three hours and we only covered the Show Floor (well, most of it on Level 4) and the Gaming Area on Level 2.  If we had three-day passes we'd be able to see the entire convention.  Maybe.

(Image:  One entrance to the Show Floor at the end of the day)

Here are some of the folks I met during our walkabout:

Rebecca Hicks, author of Little Vampires.  

(Image:  Rebecca Hicks, the only author I thought of taking a picture of at the start of a busy day)

I met her during last year's GeekGirlCon, where she advised me to get Brad Guigar's The Webcomics Handbook.  Which I did, along with How to Make Webcomics.

This of course, led me to meeting the "evil genius" behind Evil Inc, and Tales From The Con.  I had an enjoyable chat with Brad, who also gave me some great webcomic advice.  (Now all I have to do is follow it).  Brad was nice enough to sign my copy of How to Make Webcomics and directed us to his co-author pals:  Scott Kurtz, author of Player vs Player (PvP), Dave Kallett, creator of Sheldon and Kris Straub.

I told Scott and Dave how much I appreciated the information they provided in How to Make Webcomics book and have started following their webcomics.

With three out of four authors' autographs obtained, Alex and I set out on a quest to find the last person in the How to Make Webcomics quartet--Kris Straub.

But despite the helpful directions from Brad, Scott and Dave, Kris proved to be an elusive author.  Neither Alex & I aren't expert trackers, but we like to think we're capable of following simple instructions.  However, finding one author among hundreds, struggling through a stream of fellow fanboys and fangirls numbering in the tens of thousands, locating Kris was like searching for one particular Tribble among a pile of Tribbles.

If Alex & I had three-day passes, we could have found Kris.  Maybe.

Greg Rucka proved almost as evasive.  Fortunately, the young lady sitting at his booth assured Alex & I that Greg was present, but had stepped out.  When we returned, I had a nice talk with him about Queen & Country (Vol 1), which he signed.  I told Greg about the plot-twist in one story I really liked (sorry no spoilers!), and found out that a movie is still "in the works."

The last author I was able to meet was kindly Ron Randall, creator of Trekker, who signed my Omnibus Edition and talked about his other projects, like his Sketchbook. 

With three books (mostly) signed...

...I had only two autographs left to get:  Stan Lee's for my copy of How to Write Comics and J. Scott Campbell, artist for Danger Girl.

Oh, and remember my comment about trying to compare the convention exhibitor list with my books?

Well, when we came across Phil & Kaja's Studio Foglio/Girl Genius booth, I realized Myth Adventures at home.  I'm posting about this now so I have a better chance of remembering to bring my book next year.

Now getting back to Campbell and Lee:  These guys, of course, were Celebrity Guests.  This meant strict autograph and photo op schedule--and the corresponding long lines.  By the time Alex & I completed our autograph and shopping missions it was 4:30 PM, a short time after the last autograph session for Campbell & Lee.  Even this late in the day, the Celebrity Guest Area on Level 6 was still packed.  So we decided to call it a day.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself.

After meeting with the authors I wanted to meet and getting their autographs, Alex & I made our way to the parking garage, where I hid my signed books in my car.  We then had lunch at a nearby Jimmy Johns.

This turned out to be a great choice.  Not only did we get our sandwiches fast, but a family finished eating and we were able to take over the booth they vacated.  So we avoided the fate of most convention goers:  Waiting in  long lines and scarffing down food standing up, or sitting on the convention floor.

With our meal done and with less weight in my backpack, it was on to Phase-II of our cunning comicon plan:

Buy more stuff!

Stay tuned!

Happy Easter!

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

Sunday Fly-By to Emerald City Comicon 2015--The "Preflight"

(Image:  Emerald City Comicon Banner)

Due to my work schedule, I could only attend the last day of this year's Emerald City Comicon (ECCC, 27-29 March).

My on-line activity during the week leading up to the convention was spent examining the website's Program, Exhibitors and Artist Alley sections to determine what my focus would be for my "Sunday Fly-By." 

(ECCC Program Guide with cover art by Becky Dreistadt)

Even though I could only attend 1/3 of the ECCC, I wasn't flying solo:  I invited my step-son Alex to join me.  I reserved our tickets back in January and our passports-to-adventure arrived in the mail two weeks before the show:

While I've managed to attend the 2012 and 2103 conventions, for one and three days respectively, this was Alex's first time attending such an event.  He was sporting enough to follow my lead. 

However, I didn't want Alex to be bored, so I decided to skip the panel discussions and celebrity guest appearances, and simply do a walk-about to give him an overall impression of the convention layout and activities.

My ulterior motive for doing a walk-about was to chat with some the writers and artists, and solicit some advice on how to improve my webcomic, Breakout from Bongolaan.

With this in mind, I wanted to look professional.  However, early that Sunday morning, I stepped out of the shower, looked at the business-casual attire I set out and thought:  The Hell with it...

...and donned my Punisher costume.

(Image from:  Comic Vine--The Punisher vs. The Saints)

Okay, nowhere near as cool, or heavily armed as the real Punisher costume. 

My version consisted of the Punisher White Skull T-shirt my wife bought me at ECCC 2013, black cargo pants, black jungle boots, a cargo-strap belt, a holster and an air-soft pellet gun replica of a Desert Eagle semi-automatic handgun. 

As to the effectiveness of my costume--I'll discuss it on my cosplay blogpost.

For now, it's back to the fly-by preflight...

...Alex and I met outside the Washington State Convention Center.  He rode his bike into Seattle and left his bike at work.  Meanwhile I drove.  Normally, finding a parking space in the Convention Center can be fairly easy, if you arrive early enough.  The center straddles I-5, so there are exits that lead straight to the facility's parking garage.

However, that weekend there were a series of construction projects going on that affected normal traffic patterns.  This can be bad enough, especially since Seattle took 5th Place among the nation's most congested cities. 

Fortunately, driving the highways & byways was smooth sailing--until took the detour exit for the Convention Center.  Due to the aforementioned construction, I had to take a roundabout way to find parking.  But since I had cash handy, I was able to snag a spot right back at the Convention Center.

Anyway, enough about Seattle's traffic woes.

After I discussed our "con-plan," we stepped into a nearby TARDIS...

...metaphorically speaking of course, and entered the "...strange new world..." that is the Emerald City's premiere comic convention...

...to be continued...so stay tuned!

The Tropes and Tribulations of Playing Twilight Imperium

(Image from:  Clever Move Games)

As I was trolling the internet conducting research for our next Twilight Imperium (TI3) game, I stumbled across one of my own pictures on Matthew Gravelyn's article on learning a new game (painful vs painless).

 

I still chuckle when I look at the photo of Jason and Ken, wondering if they're contemplating their next cunning plan--or hoping to get mercifully wiped out so they can leave. 

 

TI3 is a good example of Painful/Painless Learning Curve.  Despite game's size, there's not a lot of rules, at least in terms of page-length.  The complexity becomes apparent when players try to employ a game-winning strategy.

 

Which can make the game fun, or frustrating, depending on how you view TI3.

 

One of the methods Fantasy Flight Games employed to make the game so appealing was the overdose of tropes; which in this case are metaphors and clichés borrowed from sci-fi movies, TV shows, or literature. 

 

However, sometimes it takes more than an amusing association for players to sit through a grueling galactic game-a-thon.

 

TI3 has been known to cause fractures in friendships, couples to split and tables to be overturned.

 

Don't believe me?

 

Check out the comments in this Reddit article:  Boardgames? Hey, how about Twilight Imperium, 7-12 hours of trusting no one. 

 

My suggestion:  Even though the fate of the table-top galaxy is at stake, don't take TI3 too seriously.

 

Now I just have to remember my own advice when my forces are wiped out and my planets fall under new management.

 

Game Report: Twilight Imperium--6 Player Session

(Image: Cover art for Twilight Imperium 2nd Edition)

Earlier this month, several of us managed to assemble for a game of Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition--"TI3").

The Plan:

We had a window of opportunity to start a seven-player campaign on the one Saturday everyone had off. 

However--as you might already anticipating--our best-laid plans went awry just before game day.  Jason & Ken, who would be hosting, just returned from a military field exercise, so they couldn't get the game room cleaned in time.  The intention was to set up and play a few rounds, then leave the game out for subsequent game sessions.  Instead we ended up playing on the dining room table.

Meanwhile, Joe was on a business trip on the east coast.  Boston, MA, wasn't the only city affected by this winter's severe weather.  Joe's travel plans were delayed due to snow in Virginia, so Dallas, who was due to move within a couple of weeks, ran Joe's faction, then became co-conspirator when Joe arrived later, with his infant son to give his wife a break.

Making Theragan-aide from Theragan:

(Yes, I know I'm mixing sci-fi metaphors)

Despite these scheduling set-backs, we managed to pull off an enjoyable and interesting game session.  We got to the point where most of the planets were claimed, or in the process of being taken, but before any major conflict erupted between the major races.

Since the game couldn't remain on the dining room table, and this was newcomers Terry & Tom's first exposure to the TI3's intrigue and intricacies, we decided to consider this bout to be another playtest.

We hope to start the "real" 6-Player Larger Galaxy (with nearly a dozen more map tiles) campaign sometime next month.

In the meantime, here's the game report of our third playtest of TI3, along with a concocted plot device to explain the incomplete narrative...

(Note: Click on the following pictures for an enlarged "slide show" view, but go back to normal viewing to read the Concluding Commentary on Galactic Conquests at the end ).

Concluding Commentary on Galactic Conquests: 

I think our group may be finally getting the hang of this game.  Or at least we keep narrowing down our errors each time we play. 

The one thing most of us noticed is there seemed to be less Trade Goods being accumulated and circulated than in previous games.  I'm not sure what we did differently than in our past playtests.  Hopefully, we'll find during our next session.  On the credit side of the ledger, the reduced cash flow kept our forces down to more manageable levels.

Since we're still learning the nuances of galactic conquest, we used most of the expansion rules, with the exception of the following:  Artifacts, Mercenaries, and Representatives, along with sticking to the basic Strategy & Objective Cards.

The following rules were available, but didn't come into play:  Shock Troops and Space Mines, while no one had the technology and/or resources to build Flagships and War Suns.

One thing I overlooked, and I suspect most of my fellow players did too, were our race's special abilities.  As the Matriarch of the Naalu Collective, I overlooked having a strategic initiative of "0," meaning I could go first.  My only excuse was that I was busy setting up the game and being the rules referee throughout the session.

I don't remember anyone else utilizing their racial abilities, except for the Nekro Virus not participating in any Galactic Council get-togethers.  So it's important to remember:  Once you're assigned a race, read all the information there is on your Race Sheet.

Or better yet, do some homework before hand, by studying resource sites like Game Knight's Twilight Imperium Page.

May the Force be with you!

(Yes, I know I'm mixing sci-fi metaphors again).

Organizing a Galactic Empire

 

Organization is the key to empire-building.

 

Or at least running an effective monster game.

 

I found that out a couple weeks ago, when several of us managed to get together for a session of Twilight Imperium. 

 

I'm still in the process of composing the game report.  In the meantime, I thought I'd discuss how I managed to organize such a large game--finally--and it's two supplements, Shattered Empire and Shards of the Throne.

 

I acquired the whole set used, which didn't come with a Shattered Empire box.  In my initial attempt at organizing Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition--"TI3"), I stuffed everything in Ziploc Bags, like this:

 

This worked fine, when there were only 3-4 players.  But our last session had seven players running six factions (one player was filling-in for a late arrival).

 

Not only was setting-up the game frustrating, but repacking it was done in a hasty, haphazard manner, which would have required a lot of re-repacking.

 

A week later, I bought three parts containers, made of sturdy plastic, which I found in the Tool Section of a local Walmart.

 

I kept the large map tiles, plastic playing pieces, and some of the playing cards in the plastic bags, as seen in the picture above.  The rest, primarily the cardboard playing pieces and small cards, went into the parts containers.

 

The cardboard playing pieces required two containers:

One to house the 18 races of TI3...

 

...and the other for the sundry of status markers (such as Space Domain Counters, Ground Force & Fighter Unit Supplement Counters, Trade Goods, etc.): 

What I like about these parts containers, other than being large enough to hold large game pieces, is the tops are removable.  This--I hope--will allow me to plop the box on the table as a ready-made Reserve Pool:

 

 

I sifted through the commonly-used cards and placed them in the third parts container:

 

These are sorted, from top-left to bottom right, in the following manner starting with the Representative Cards (diplomats/spies & bodyguards)...

...followed by the Objective Cards, like the public...

 

...and not-so public ones.

 

 

Next are the Facility Cards, such as Colonies (which add Influence Points)...

 

...and Refineries (which add Resource Points).

 

There's also some Unit Reference Cards containing the necessary information on the various plastic game pieces.

The Political Cards take up two sections:

 

 

Each planet has it's own status card.  The back side represents a planet when it's "exhausted" of Resources or Influence...

 

...or face up when the planet is still capable of producing for the ruling race, or influencing galactic politics. 

 

Here is the Galactic Capital, Mecatol Rex--a mere shadow of it's former self.  

 

And here's another version of Mecatol Rex in all it's glory, used during the Fall of the Empire Scenario, found in the Shards of the Throne Expansion:

 

 

Each race...

 

 

...has the potential to develop unique technology and build Flagships, "super dreadnoughts," with unique capabilities.

The Action Cards are another batch that take up two container spaces.

 

There are eight sets of Technology Cards, than can be developed by any race during the game.  Each space in the tray contains two sets of cards.

 

Another set of commonly-used cards are the Trade Cards, which reside in the status marker box. 

Since trade may involve the hiring of mercenaries (found in the Shards of the Throne Expansion), the Mercenary Cards are also stored here.

 

The face of each Mercenary Card reveals the image, stats and unique features of the mercenary leader and his/her.

 

Mercenaries also have corresponding playing pieces, which can move around the map and engage in combat.

 

Some pieces don't even fit into a plastic bag, like the TI3's Victory Point Track and extra-galactic Wormhole Nexuses...

 

...not to mention all the Race Sheets.

 

I got rid of the original cardboard fillers to make room in the main TI3 box. 

 

Despite the increased weight, everything fits and appear to be easily accessible.  (I'll make sure I don't store the game on any top shelf).

 

But the true test of my galactic reorganization will be determined in the next game session.