Brian Wilkinson
May 16, 2002, 12:45 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/logos/WizardWorldEast_logo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/logos/WizardWorldEast_logot.jpg" align=left alt="WizardWorld East logo"></a>One of the main reasons anyone goes to a comic convention like Wizard World Philly is in the hopes that they'll get to rub elbows with all the greats in comics. Despite being 'infamous' to millions of comic fans, the creators themselves have the advantage that no one knows what they look like. Well, when X-Fan was there to get all the latest news about the books you love straight from the mouths of the creators themselves, a side bonus was that we took pictures to show all of you who couldn't attend just what these guys look like!
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/newxmen.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/newxmen-t.JPG" align=right alt="Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>First up we have none other than Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison. Nice guys to be sure, but the last thing I was expecting was the thick Scottish accents that these gents share!
Grant was probably the best dressed at the show, as he appeared at the Marvel booth for his signing dressed in a suit! Everyone else may have looked more comfortable in jeans and sweaters, but Grant put the rest to shame. Keep watching X-Fan in the near future to see an exclusive video interview Grant was kind enough to give us!
As for Frank, his best moment of the show was showing up a bit late for the X-Men creator Q & A featuring Mike Raicht, Mike Marts, Ethan Van Sciver, Bill Rosemann, Axel Alonso, and Frank Tieri. The first question he received was "Why are you late?" to which Quitely humorously replied "Well, I just got off the phone with my wife. She tried to call me at the hotel, but they said I checked out this morning and didn't leave a forwarding address. She panicked, thinking something like I'd had a fight with Joe Quesada and decided to leave the country!" After a few more minutes of the Q & A, Quitely amended his answer. "Actually, I was fixing my hair," he quipped.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/chentieri.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/chentieri-t.JPG" align=left alt="Sean Chen and Frank Tieri (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>The next picture we have is of the Wolverine creative team, Sean Chen and Frank Tieri! The oddest thing about this pair has to be the fact that Sean Chen is way too nice of a guy to have drawn some of the mayhem that Wolvie has inflicted in the past few months! Sean was the first guy I met at the con and was more than willing to introduce me around. How can you not like a guy who brings his mom with him to every convention he goes to? I wonder if she's seen some of his latest work. ;)
Then we come to Frank "Big Pappy" Tieri (a nickname he earned during the X-Men Q & A). Now, I must say that Frank is perhaps the creator I knew the best before heading out to Philly, and part of the big reason for that trip was that he promised me a beer. Meeting Frank is like meeting the Tony Soprano of Marvel Comics. This guy is ALL Brooklyn! True to his word, Frank made sure to pick up a beer for the X-Fan troupe. Thanks, Frank, you're almost a true gentleman! ;)
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/vansciverchen.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/vansciverchen-t.JPG" align=right alt="Ethan Van Sciver and Sean Chen (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>With guys like Ethan Van Sciver and Sean Chen at a convention, you know you're heading towards X-Fan bliss. Two of Marvel's top talents, and they're just sitting right there!
Ethan was a really great guy, and had plenty of great things to say about the X-Fan site. He also showed us quite a few pages of original art and mentioned that his love for what writer Grant Morrison is doing on New X-Men is what keeps him firmly attached to the title! If his work on New X-Men is anything to go by, this guy is definitely going to go far.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/kubert.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/kubert-t.JPG" align=left alt="Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, and Adam Kubert (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>The first family of comics: The Kubert's! Pictured from left to right are Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, and Adam Kubert. The X-Fan reputation has spread far as each one not only knows about the site (and actually visit it from time to time) but what floored me was that they knew who I was! How can you beat that?
Andy was all smiles as hundreds of eager fans got him to sign their copies of Origin and his early issues of X-Men. Joe was busy signing some of his legendary books as well as the issue of Ultimate X-Men he inked for his son, Adam! Speaking of Adam (Ultimate X-Men), he is without a doubt one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet. Adam always has a kind word, and when we bumped into him later that night he was all smiles and even offered to buy us a drink! I'll be looking forward to seeing him again this August when he comes to the Toronto Comicon here in Ontario, Canada.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/calafiore.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/calafiore-t.JPG" align=right alt="Jim Calafiore (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>Another help on the X-Men news front was the Exiles artist, Jim Calafiore! Not only did Jim slip in some news about what fans can expect from upcoming issues of Exiles but he also had time to pose for this picture. The second I finished taking it, he noted with an amused tone that the issue of Green Arrow that he was holding was upside down. I told him not to worry as no one will notice. ;)
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/jerbrett.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/jerbrett-t.JPG" align=left alt="Two Dorks (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>All of this news is exciting, and has clearly taken its toll on features writer Jeromy Lloyd and reviewer Brett Boyko. Here we are on our first night in Philadelphia after a sleepless night of driving and a day of covering the convention. Truth be told, I'm not sure they even realized I took this picture.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/marvelbooth.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/marvelbooth-t.JPG" align=right alt="Marvel Comics Signing Area @ WizardWorld East (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>So, that's it for now, but be sure to check the site out again in the next week or so as we begin to bring you exclusive video footage from the con itself! Though you may have heard about a few of the people we managed to interview (Grant Morrison, Frank Tieri, Joe Quesada), there are a few other surprises in store as well!
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/newxmen.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/newxmen-t.JPG" align=right alt="Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>First up we have none other than Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison. Nice guys to be sure, but the last thing I was expecting was the thick Scottish accents that these gents share!
Grant was probably the best dressed at the show, as he appeared at the Marvel booth for his signing dressed in a suit! Everyone else may have looked more comfortable in jeans and sweaters, but Grant put the rest to shame. Keep watching X-Fan in the near future to see an exclusive video interview Grant was kind enough to give us!
As for Frank, his best moment of the show was showing up a bit late for the X-Men creator Q & A featuring Mike Raicht, Mike Marts, Ethan Van Sciver, Bill Rosemann, Axel Alonso, and Frank Tieri. The first question he received was "Why are you late?" to which Quitely humorously replied "Well, I just got off the phone with my wife. She tried to call me at the hotel, but they said I checked out this morning and didn't leave a forwarding address. She panicked, thinking something like I'd had a fight with Joe Quesada and decided to leave the country!" After a few more minutes of the Q & A, Quitely amended his answer. "Actually, I was fixing my hair," he quipped.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/chentieri.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/chentieri-t.JPG" align=left alt="Sean Chen and Frank Tieri (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>The next picture we have is of the Wolverine creative team, Sean Chen and Frank Tieri! The oddest thing about this pair has to be the fact that Sean Chen is way too nice of a guy to have drawn some of the mayhem that Wolvie has inflicted in the past few months! Sean was the first guy I met at the con and was more than willing to introduce me around. How can you not like a guy who brings his mom with him to every convention he goes to? I wonder if she's seen some of his latest work. ;)
Then we come to Frank "Big Pappy" Tieri (a nickname he earned during the X-Men Q & A). Now, I must say that Frank is perhaps the creator I knew the best before heading out to Philly, and part of the big reason for that trip was that he promised me a beer. Meeting Frank is like meeting the Tony Soprano of Marvel Comics. This guy is ALL Brooklyn! True to his word, Frank made sure to pick up a beer for the X-Fan troupe. Thanks, Frank, you're almost a true gentleman! ;)
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/vansciverchen.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/vansciverchen-t.JPG" align=right alt="Ethan Van Sciver and Sean Chen (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>With guys like Ethan Van Sciver and Sean Chen at a convention, you know you're heading towards X-Fan bliss. Two of Marvel's top talents, and they're just sitting right there!
Ethan was a really great guy, and had plenty of great things to say about the X-Fan site. He also showed us quite a few pages of original art and mentioned that his love for what writer Grant Morrison is doing on New X-Men is what keeps him firmly attached to the title! If his work on New X-Men is anything to go by, this guy is definitely going to go far.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/kubert.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/kubert-t.JPG" align=left alt="Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, and Adam Kubert (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>The first family of comics: The Kubert's! Pictured from left to right are Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, and Adam Kubert. The X-Fan reputation has spread far as each one not only knows about the site (and actually visit it from time to time) but what floored me was that they knew who I was! How can you beat that?
Andy was all smiles as hundreds of eager fans got him to sign their copies of Origin and his early issues of X-Men. Joe was busy signing some of his legendary books as well as the issue of Ultimate X-Men he inked for his son, Adam! Speaking of Adam (Ultimate X-Men), he is without a doubt one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet. Adam always has a kind word, and when we bumped into him later that night he was all smiles and even offered to buy us a drink! I'll be looking forward to seeing him again this August when he comes to the Toronto Comicon here in Ontario, Canada.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/calafiore.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/calafiore-t.JPG" align=right alt="Jim Calafiore (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>Another help on the X-Men news front was the Exiles artist, Jim Calafiore! Not only did Jim slip in some news about what fans can expect from upcoming issues of Exiles but he also had time to pose for this picture. The second I finished taking it, he noted with an amused tone that the issue of Green Arrow that he was holding was upside down. I told him not to worry as no one will notice. ;)
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/jerbrett.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/jerbrett-t.JPG" align=left alt="Two Dorks (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>All of this news is exciting, and has clearly taken its toll on features writer Jeromy Lloyd and reviewer Brett Boyko. Here we are on our first night in Philadelphia after a sleepless night of driving and a day of covering the convention. Truth be told, I'm not sure they even realized I took this picture.
<a href=http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/marvelbooth.JPG target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/temp/philly/marvelbooth-t.JPG" align=right alt="Marvel Comics Signing Area @ WizardWorld East (photograph © 2002 Brian E. Wilkinson)"></a>So, that's it for now, but be sure to check the site out again in the next week or so as we begin to bring you exclusive video footage from the con itself! Though you may have heard about a few of the people we managed to interview (Grant Morrison, Frank Tieri, Joe Quesada), there are a few other surprises in store as well!