Victori Belle @ Mighty Con Milwaukee!!!

Wow... it's 2017 Con Season already and like the good little cosplayer I am...I'm not ready costume wise!!! AHHHHH~! Procrastination is not my friend. 

But doesn't matter there are Cons to go to and people to see! My first Con of 2017 just occurred last weekend... Mighty Con Milwaukee! Ok, so going into this Con there were a lot of negative things being thrown around because Mighty Con had to change their venue. They moved to the Wisconsin Fair Grounds... which is bigger and better... but had to charge people for parking. ($6... not to bad.) But people around the community were in an uproar on FB making me think that no one would be at this convention. Boy was I WRONG~! 

Upwards to 2,000 people visited Mighty Con Milwaukee last weekend making it one of the most successful Mighty Cons EVER! So many venders got the opportunity to join in the action too because of the larger space! Everyone was here to have a good time and being a one day convention everyone was also in the mood to buy! My booth with Deadgar Winter, from Deadgar's Dark Coffin Classics had a run in with security... Deadgar brought out his inner wrestler and decided to do a chair fight instead of a sword fight with someone... not recommended at conventions. 😅

I'm so glad Randy Beasley and his team were able to pull off a move and make it a success... this is gearing me up for all the rest of the Mighty Cons this year. People know it's an affordable show with great venders and so they are coming to support it. Good job guys! 

Cosplay wise I was able to see some unique kids costumes! My all-time favorite was a little girl who wasn't just Wonder Woman... but Wonder Woman driving her invisible jet! 😆 Loved it so much. People were able to even insert themselves into the world of their Cosplay at this con thanks to the vender Foto-Con. (https://www.facebook.com/thefotocon/) Photographer Joe Oleksy takes photos on a green screen of Cosplayers and then throws in their favorite background and bam! Your cosplay comes to life. He even prints the photos out on the spot! 

Cartoonist Jeff Balke was also there with one of his amazing animators! He always puts on a great show with his drawings and amazing booths. I can't wait to meet more venders at the next Mighty Con... which is February 25th at DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton,IL.  (I might not make it but you should try to!)

Can't wait to share more crazy con stories with everyone experiencing NerdLife~! Hope to see you at a Convention in the future.. until then!

Victori Belle <3

First Official Look At The SUICIDE SQUAD Assembled And Ready For Action

From ComicBookMovie.com

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Here it is, our first official look at the Suicide Squad.


Pictured from left to right are: Adam Beach (Cowboys & Aliens) as Slipknot, Jai Courtney (Terminator: Genisys) as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne (Paper Towns) as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Will Smith (Men In Black) as Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor: The Dark World) as Killer Croc, and Jay Hernandez (Hostel) as El Diablo.

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With Suicide Squad, DC is Offering Up Everything Fans Want

By: Jesse Merkel

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Last October, Warner Bros. finally released the tentative schedule for their shared movie universe. The schedule laid out 10 movies between now and 2020. This schedule included a number of popular characters in the DC universe, including The Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Shazam, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman.

There were also three team up movies announced, two of which, Justice League Part One and Justice League Part Two, were not much of a surprise. What did surprise people, however, was the announcement of a Suicide Squad movie.

After the popular portrayals given by Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckart in The Dark Knight, haven’t we all deep down been waiting for a movie focused solely on villains?

If you’re a true DC die hard, this probably caught your attention almost immediately. If you’re new to the fold, strap yourself in. There are several reasons as to why this movie might just be the ultimate fan experience.

Setting Up the Rest of the Universe

As I wrote in my previous article, DC is approaching their cinematic universe differently than Marvel. Whereas Marvel has taken a more episodic approach, DC is laying out a more serial form of storytelling.

Suicide Squad will be the key. This movie will introduce a number of villains that will probably end up appearing in future movies. The benefit to this is that the foundation for these characters will be well established, saving time in future installments, while avoiding Marvel’s precedent of hollow, non-threatening villains that pop up mid way through the movie. (Malekith, anyone?)

We’re going to be dropped into a universe where the majority of the big villains have been active for years. Most will already be in jail. Instead of watching the birth of a baddie in the movie, this will be more akin to seeing Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader when they first appeared on screen. You’ll have no trouble understanding why everyone is afraid of these people.

Fantastic Villains, Fantastic Casting

There are two things that Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Boomerang, Enchantress, Rick Flagg and Amanda Waller all have in common. Each of them has a rich history, and none of them have been featured in a live-action movie. Characters like the Joker and Lex Luthor have been seen before, but have plenty more to draw from.

What’s truly amazing is that this one movie has been able to round up such an impressive roster. Oscar nominees and winners are scattered left and right. Jared Leto gets into character like few of his contemporaries. Viola Davis and Jesse Eisenberg both have shown an incredible amount of dramatic range. Will Smith has shown an impressive ability to be intense and physically imposing, while Margot Robbie raked in impressive reviews for her performances in The Wolf of Wall Street and Focus.

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Perhaps more important is the fact that you can visualize each of these actors taking on the role. Anyone else think that Robbie looks exactly like Harley Quinn, or that Leto’s smile is a dead ringer for the Jokers?

Imagine a Joker, based off of the one seen in The Dark Knight Returns, screwing with an angry Amanda Waller during an interrogation, or bantering playfully with Harley Quinn. Feel that? Those are chills.

The Right Director and Story

If this movie had been given another director, it probably wouldn’t work. Thankfully, we’ve got David Ayers at the helm. The Training Day and Fury director is known for his gritty and violent style. He knows how to balance character development, intense action and story without letting any one part drag down the entire work.

Now, you can’t put this many villains together without some laughs. That being said, it’s doubtful that we will see a scene where it sounds like everyone has a stand up comedian feeding them lines. That works fine for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has no place with this cast of characters. DC is clearly going for subtly over silliness.

Right now, rumors are swirling that Amanda Waller will assemble the Suicide Squad to retrieve the Joker. Others believe it may have something to do with Waller’s intense need to reign in the Batman. Both stories are on a smaller scale than the majority of super hero movies, which will allow for even more character development. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on people when the entire world isn’t at stake.

Suicide Squad will come screaming into theaters only a few months after Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. Between now and then, we’ll only have rumor and conjecture to go on. Still, if half of what we’ve heard turns out to be true, we’re all in for one hell of a ride.

Pick up your copy of Suicide Squad

New Suicide Squad: Issue 6

What happens when you throw in an army of genetically engineered beings, China and a group of convicts in a lab? Not sure? The answer is you have issue number six of the "New Suicide Squad." The last issue left off with Harley Quinn setting off the alarm and unwittingly letting out the genetically engineered beings. 

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The promotion for the heavily featured Harley Quinn issue is actually pretty deceptive, so for those of you who are hardcore Harley Quinn fans, prepare for potential disappointment. The members of the Suicide Squad are given equal footing in the issue, with the exception of Man-Bats, who provides some late issue distraction for the team when they need it most.

The issue revolves around the team fighting off the army of genetically engineeredd beings. Reverse Flash took up the bulk of the panels trying to grab as many bombs as he could, at least until his knee seemed to go out on him with the rest of the team being overwhelmed. The interaction between the team was limited, and the issue featured, and revolved around, the actions of the Suicide Squad. 

For me, where the issue dragged was places in which the Suicide Squad handlers were featured. The dialogue was dry, and with the exception of Victor Sage being approached in the bar, it didn't really lead anywhere or give an indication of a potential future storyline. In order to effectively advancce the storyline, you need dialogue and that dialogue should have meaning. In this particular issue, I really felt like the dialogue was just there to provide a break from the action.

The issue ends in a spectacular blast, an angry man, and a promise of revenge. Will we see another member fall? What will Sage do? 

You won't find anything Earth shattering in this issue of Suicide Squad, though I guess that's expected with Suicide Squad. If by chance you're reading anything by this team, you're probably expecting violence and very little else. You have some deccent action in this issue, but I wouldn't say that it's an absolute must-grab either. In all honesty, I put this issue down feeling a little disappointed in it's overall execution. Unfortunately, it seems that DC is still stuck on giving us a mediocre issues for the Suicide Squad. You would think that with a movie coming out next year, DC would want to create as much buzz and excitement as possible. Everything could be leading up to some great issues, but sadly it's just not happening yet.  

 

Posted by: Jeff