Nerd Culture Podcast

Episode #199 features:

Discussions: RIP Muhammad Ali & Erik Bauersfeld / Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary & the new series / Mana Mojo at Oz Comic-Con

Reviews: Super & Slither 

Azerothian Times: Warcraft: The Beginning review

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Well it took a little longer longer than anticipated, but our Cosplay Interview videos from Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2014 are up!

Click here for the link!

Huge thanks to everyone who agreed to be interviewed. You all looked amazing and it’s always awesome to speak to such creative and wonderful people. We hope you enjoy the videos, and as always, comments are welcomed!

Hopefully we’ll have more from the upcoming Armageddon Expo, and I promise they’ll be up a lot sooner 🙂

Hi all!

Another great Oz Comic-Con and more awesome Cosplay. NCP was there and interviewed some amazingly talented Cosplayers (vids up soon!) and I managed to get some great pics!

If there is a pic of you, let us know 🙂

Hit More for the rest of the pics!

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When you think of ‘comic books‘ what is the first thing that comes to mind?

A quick survey around my work office revealed that for the vast majority of my non-nerd colleagues, ‘comic books‘ meant everything from specific characters, Spider-man, Superman, Batman etc, to common comic book tropes like ‘nerds‘, ‘cartoons‘, ‘Big Bang Theory‘, ‘superheroes‘ & ‘creative‘.

When I then asked which country they most associated with ‘comic books‘, every person responded with ‘America‘ or ‘U.S.A.‘.

This didn’t surprise me, and I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you either.

It is perfectly understandable that to the general public, ‘comic books‘ = America. They have been the dominant force in comic books for many years. But other countries do of course also have their own comic industry; France, U.K., Japan & Australia to name a few.

In fact, the Australian comics industry is rich with passionate and talented creators. Australian comics are reaching a level of popularity and appreciation that they have never seen before and as such are reaching audiences around the world. Whether that be on the world’s largest digital store comiXolgy (Paul Bedford‘s The List, Jason Franks‘ The SixSmiths etc), by winning prestigious Awards (Ben Templesmith, Ben Hutchings, John Dixon etc), or producing acclaimed work for international markets (Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott, Colin Wilson* etc). Australian comic creators are making their presence known, and nowhere is that more apparent than at the various conventions held around Australia, especially at Oz Comic-Con.

As their name suggests, Oz Comic-Con love comics, and ensure that at every event they put on they take the opportunity to showcase as much Australian and International comic talent as they can by featuring the largest range of Australian comic book guests of any convention in Australia.

In their past years they’ve featured a great number of comic creators, including the one and only Stan Lee! But this year they have an even bigger number of Special Guest comic creators and over 90% of them are Aussies! Not only is that an amazing ratio, it doesn’t even count the heap of awesome creators you’ll find in Artists Alley. This is a huge amount of Aussie talent on show and is a great opportunity for their existing and future fans to meet them, purchase their wares and maybe even get a sketch!

And for prospective comic creators, Wolfgang Bylsma, the Editor-in-Chief of Gestalt Publishing, will be present at the event and will be completing portfolio reviews for budding comic artists. Gestalt is Australia’s leading independent graphic novel publishing house, and the portfolio reviews are a wonderful opportunity for those interested in the illustration and comic industry to have their work looked at by a respected publisher. Joining Wolfgang at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne will be some of the talented artists published by Gestalt, including Andrew Constant (Torn, Broken Line) and Justin Randall (Changing Ways).

Australian Comic Creators are some of the most talented in the world. Their output encompasses the whole range, from sci-fi, to drama, to superheroes, to comedy and Oz Comic-Con is the perfect place to check them out. We never miss a show, and neither should you.

For a full list of the Comic Creators at this year’s Oz Comic-Con, check out their site and purchase your tickets now.

* Note: Technically Colin is from New Zealand, but I believe he now resides in Australia, and he is awesome so I wanted to include him here.

Freddy and Jason: A Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund and Veronica Mars’ Jason Dohring join the all-star guest list at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne

One of horror’s biggest stars, Robert Englund, has set his sights on Australia and is heading Down Under to stalk the crowds at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne. Joining Englund in his takeover of the mammoth pop-culture event is small-screen star Jason Dohring, adored for his role as bad boy Logan Echolls in the cult-hit series Veronica Mars.

Best known to audiences as Freddy Krueger, the dream-haunting villain in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, Englund has appeared in a wide variety of other films including Urban Legends. Englund has also undertaken extensive voice acting work, voicing characters in such animated shows as Justice League, The Batman and The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Dohring won the hearts of a legion of fans as the sarcastic and volatile love interest of the titular character in Veronica Mars and reprised the role in the 2014 Veronica Mars movie, which was funded by fans through Kickstarter. He also appeared in the television show Moonlight, a vampire romance series with a devoted following.

Oz Comic-Con Melbourne attendees will have the chance to take part in professional photograph and autograph opportunities with both Englund and Dohring, with Englund posing for photos while donning a razored fingered glove — the infamous weapon worn by his terrifying on-screen alter ego. Both Englund and Dohring will also be joining lucky fans at exclusive dinners on July 5. Seats to each dinner are limited and in demand, with tickets to dine with Englund already sold out. Only ten seats are available at the table with Dohring, so those wanting to dine with the star should act fast to secure their ticket.

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