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Goth Chick News: Comic Aficionados, Prepare to Have Your Minds Blown

Goth Chick News: Comic Aficionados, Prepare to Have Your Minds Blown

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Shifter graphic novel-smallWhen attending an event as gi-normous as Chicago’s C2E2, if you come upon a booth with a crowd so large you can’t get close enough to see what is going on, it can only mean one of two things.

Either the girls from Gorilla Tango Burlesque are promoting their Star Wars: A Nude Hope girlie show again or someone is demonstrating something truly amazing.  And though Black Gate photog Chris Z was hoping for the former, in this case it was the latter.

Comic fangirls and boys, allow me to introduce “augmented reality” comics.

To start with augmented reality, or “AR,” is defined by the Mashable tech site as:

A direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory inputs.  As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.  Unlike virtual reality which replaces the real world with a simulated one, augmented reality is in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) information about the surrounding real (or in this case “comic”) world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulate-able. Artificial information about the environment and its objects is overlaid on the “real” world.

Translated, this means by downloading a free companion app and pointing your tablet or smartphone’s camera at pages in an AR comic, you can literally watch the art get up off the page and interact with you.

And this is what drew the insane crowd to the Anomaly Productions booth at C2E2.

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Goth Chick News: 2013 Bram Stoker Award Winners

Goth Chick News: 2013 Bram Stoker Award Winners

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Doctor SleepBack in March, we gave you the list of nominees for the The Horror Writers Association’s 2013 Stoker Awards for superior literary achievement in horror, in a variety of categories. The Bram Stoker Awards were instituted in 1987 and the eleven award categories are: Novel, First Novel, Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction Collection, Poetry Collection, Anthology, Screenplay, Graphic Novel, and Non-Fiction.

The 2013 awards were distributed at the Association’s annual award banquet on May 10, 2014, at the World Horror Convention in Portland. Black Gate and Goth Chick News would like to congratulate the following authors and editors for their superior achievements and suggest you start loading up your Amazon wish list immediately.

Lifetime Achievement Awards

  • R.L. Stine
  • Stephen Jones

For Superior Achievement in a Novel

  • Stephen King – Doctor Sleep (Scribner)

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Goth Chick News: Lovecraft Fans, It’s Time for a Road Trip

Goth Chick News: Lovecraft Fans, It’s Time for a Road Trip

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The Atlas on your phone
The Atlas on your phone

In last week’s coverage of C2E2, I promised to share two of the coolest products from the show in upcoming posts – and I am about to do just that.

Though my buddy and Lovecraft devotee, comic artist Dirk Manning, was hoping for Cthulhu footy pajamas, I believe what I am about to serve up is (almost) as exciting.

Allow me to introduce you to Chris Karr and his Pnakotic Atlas.

Karr was first struck with the idea for the Pnakotic Atlas when driving through Maine. As a fan of Stephen King, Kerr became curious as to the actual locations of some of King’s more famous tales and thought it would be cool if there was a way to easily find some of them. Karr is an app developer by trade and an avid fan of H.P. Lovecraft (in addition to King). He decided to tackle the idea of an atlas that documented Lovecraft locations: a less potentially litigious option, as Lovecraft’s works are in the public domain.

The inspiration for the name Pnakotic Atlas, as all of you Lovecraftians know, comes from The Pnakotic Manuscripts, which are fictional manuscripts created by Lovecraft that first appeared in his short story “Polaris” (1918). They appear again in several other Lovecraft stories, including At the Mountains of Madness (1936), “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” (1926), “The Other Gods” (1933), and “The Shadow Out of Time” (1936).

The fictional library city of Pnakotus is where the Manuscripts are housed and where they, and Karr’s app, get their moniker.

Karr combed through Lovecraft’s works, pulling out any detail he could find about locations (the ones on Earth, anyway), and was able to document approximately 400 potential sites.  Then using the stories as guides, he went about meticulously locating each place on Google Earth.

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Goth Chick News: The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (That’s C2E2 For You Cool Kids)

Goth Chick News: The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (That’s C2E2 For You Cool Kids)

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c2e2 logoThis year’s C2E2 event, held the weekend of April 26th, was reportedly the largest Chicago has seen so far.  And judging from the amount of trench coats and spandex Black Gate photog Chris Z and I observed during our annual pilgrimage, I have no doubt this was true.

Trench coats and spandex, you ask?

Considering this is primarily a comic convention where about one attendee in every four was parading their cosplay best, the spandex is probably self-explanatory, but it might interest you to know that the definition of sexy at this year’s event was none other than the Time Lord himself, Doctor Who.

Attendance was estimated at 70K, which meant even though Chicago is now hosting the show in the same exhibition hall as the Auto Show, the space still seems packed in, which can be somewhat awkward when spandex is involved.

The over 400 exhibitors consisted of comic sellers of course, but also every category of related paraphernalia you can possibly imagine — including costume accessories, figurines and the most amazing collection of genre artists you’ll find under one roof. And that doesn’t even include the celebrities there to meet and greet, as well as participate in panel discussions.

With that much material, it’s downright difficult to decide what to tell you about, but here are a few morsels that caught our attention.

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Goth Chick News: Zombies Take Over Indiana – Could We Tell?

Goth Chick News: Zombies Take Over Indiana – Could We Tell?

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image002Okay, that was mean.

I’ll save that snark for when Scott Kenemore writes Zombie, Toronto.

Anyway, in case you don’t remember him, Kenemore is the comic genius behind Z.E.O., A Zombie Guide for Getting A(Head) in Business as well as nine other zombie-related works of fine literature.

We met him appropriately enough, at Chicago’s Walker Stalker Con back in March, where he gave us a little inside scoop on his latest in a series of stories which explores the impact of a zombie apocalypse on a state-by-state basis.  So far, Kenemore has already documented his home state of Illinois (mayor is eaten by zombies on live TV; corrupt aldermen try to seize power – typical day in Chicago), and our nearby neighbors in Ohio (college professor becomes a zombie after a car accident, loses his friends while trying to solve the mystery of his own “death”). Now Kenemore turns his attention to the Hoosiers in his latest work, Zombie, Indiana.

The trouble begins when Governor Hank Burleson’s daughter mysteriously disappears on a field trip.  Through machinations of fate, he teams up with Indianapolis PD Special Sergeant James Nolan and high-schooler Kesha Washington to find her.  What he doesn’t know is that each harbors a terrible secret.  As the trio’s mission quickly evolves from search and rescue to a quest to redeem the very soul of Indiana, each on will wonder: can they find Burleson’s daughter before ending up on the dinner menu?

I’ve only just dug into this tasty tale, but Kenemore weaves tension (and some fairly heinous zombie violence) with the right amount of humor and adds just enough satire about the local folks to make this a highly entertaining read thus far.

Zombie, Indiana will be unleashed on humanity on May 6th.  Until then, check out Kenemore’s Zombie Blog. And remember – you’ve been warned.

What do you think would happen if zombies invaded your hometown?  What about your place of employment?  Come on, the material is probably endless.  Post a comment or drop a line to sue@blackgate.com.

Goth Chick News: An Anniversary Edition of the Ultimate Novelization

Goth Chick News: An Anniversary Edition of the Ultimate Novelization

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Alien Alan Dean Foster-smallI’ll never forget my first time.

I was a very young Goth Chick, spending a typical Saturday combing the used paperbacks for sale at my local library. It’s hard to feed a literary addiction on a six-grader’s salary, as I know every last one of you understand.

And there it was.

Dog-eared and minus its back cover, but with that impossible-to-miss front cover art. It was based on the movie I wasn’t allowed to watch, the one with the R-rating, which obviously meant it was the best movie ever committed to film. Or at least the scariest.

My parents clearly had not considered the library a place to land contraband of this magnitude.

I bolted for the front desk, threw my two quarters at the librarian, waved the yellowed, pulpy tome in her general direction, and exited the library to the adjacent park where I sat planted for the remainder of the afternoon – transfixed.

That was where I fell in twisted, grossed-out love with the movie Alien — and the man who told me the story (which is better than seeing it anyway), Mr. Alan Dean Foster.  It was the beginning of a long and intense relationship, at least by sixth-grade standards.

Back then, a used-book seller would have been the most likely place to have found a copy of Alien, a book which has been out of print since 1992. A pity, since it is widely considered the defining testament to how a novelization can complement an already-great film.

But this week, all that changed.

On Tuesday, April 15th, in honor of its 35th anniversary, Titan Books released a new printing of Alien: The Official Movie Novelization.

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Goth Chick News: Comic Book Fan Boys on the Big Screen (Fan Girls Rejoice)

Goth Chick News: Comic Book Fan Boys on the Big Screen (Fan Girls Rejoice)

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Four Color Eulogy-smallThis is as excited as I get about anything.

Back in February, I told you about a new project by our favorite indy film geniuses at Pirate Pictures, in which comic collectors finally get to be the film heroes — far overdue if you ask me.

And yes, the Black Gate crowd went wild over the idea – or as wild as you all get about anything.

So a couple weeks ago, I undertook a road trip to visit the creative team and ask them some questions about the inspiration for Four Color Eulogy; like how it happens that a bunch of comic fans were able to turn their passion into an actual movie?

I figured we’d sit around in a slightly grungy coffee shop and I’d capture all their witty banter on my handy digital recorder, then hustle home to Chicago and type it up for you.

But no. We’re way beyond grungy coffee shops now…

Instead, they suggested we meet “at the studio.”

And oh, by the way, why don’t we just roll out the actual movie cameras and film the interview instead?

Lighting? Sure! Sound guys? We’ve got plenty of them.

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Goth Chick News: My Halloween & Attractions Show 10th Anniversary

Goth Chick News: My Halloween & Attractions Show 10th Anniversary

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image002That headline alone probably qualifies me for Black Gate’s employee assistance program – the one where you sit in a calming space and talk about your feelings with no co-pay.

Unbelievable as it may sound, at least to me, I have been dragging around the Midwest for 10 years chasing one of the largest collections of disturbing paraphernalia to be bought and sold under one roof.

Yes, it’s time once again for Transworld’s annual bacchanalia – The Halloween and Attractions Show – and the official kick off of Goth Chick News’ “season.”  This is the show’s 19th year and it is officially the largest of its kind in the world focused on the haunt industry, packing over 300 exhibitors into the America’s Convention Center in St. Louis, MO.

If you ever wondered where all the “professional” haunted attractions get their gear, well now you know.  From The Travel Channel’s top picks to Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights, all those realistically gross props and blood-soaked latex ‘appliances’ have to come from somewhere.

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Goth Chick News: Something Wicked Is Coming Back This Way…

Goth Chick News: Something Wicked Is Coming Back This Way…

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Something Wicked this way comes poster-smallOkay, at this point it’s pretty clear that Hollywood is out to remake every story that ever freaked us out as kids.

Last month, we heard Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) is finally set to direct an IT remake after five years in development hell. That was OK, since it’s not like clowns were ever going to be funny and harmless again anyway.

But this week, we learn that Disney is taking another run at their 1983 film version of Something Wicked This Way Comes and once again I heave that sigh which basically says ‘there they go f’ing up another classic.’

Not that the movie version of Something Wicked is entirely a “classic” that did well the first time around – because it didn’t.

Bradbury actually scripted the original film, but he and the director Jack Clayton had a difference of opinion over the tone of the movie. Clayton wanted something more “family-friendly” and Disney had a revised draft produced without Bradbury; but the first cuts of the film tested poorly. Additional effects and a new score were added and Bradbury was brought back in to write new material.

But it was too little too late. Bradbury always claimed much of his intentions for the movie were destroyed and Disney barely broke even.

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Goth Chick News: Walker Stalker Con Drags into Chicago

Goth Chick News: Walker Stalker Con Drags into Chicago

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Walker-Stalker-Con-2014“It’s some kind of zombie convention, did you know about this?”

This is GCN photog Chris Zemko calling me last Friday night with a hot bit of industry news. Apparently a very significant event in the Chicago horror scene had eluded us (let me show you my shocked face) and Chris had just done a diving catch.

A little bit of digging turned up the information that yes indeed, Walker Stalker Con was taking place in Chicago, at one of the larger convention centers, that very weekend.

Walker Stalker Con is the brain child of podcasters James Frazier and Eric Nordhoff, who at one point apparently road tripped to Senoia, GA, where they were able to view the set of The Walking Dead and meet the actors from the show. As a result of this experience, they began The Walker Stalkers podcast to discuss the show twice weekly during its seasonal runs – and from that sprouted the inspiration for a convention.

Kicking off first in Atlanta last year, the convention focused on recreating James’s and Eric’s original experience with The Walking Dead’s cast and crew, along with actors and artists from other zombie shows, movies, and art. Due to the overwhelming response it received in 2013, James and Eric decided to host an additional annual event beginning in Chicago this year.

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