The Hangin' With Web Show set for DragonCon 2016 (Atlanta)!

RECORD CROWDS EXPECTED IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA FOR DRAGON CON 2016

Cosplayers, Gamers, and Pop Culture Fans Return for Annual Fantasy, Sci Fi, & Gaming Convention: More than 400 Actors, Artists, Authors, and Creators Will Give Talks and Meet Fans.

ATLANTA – August 16, 2016 – More than 75,000 people are expected to pack downtown Atlanta over the Labor Day weekend as Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention, celebrates its 30th Anniversary.

Dragon Con fans will travel from every state in the nation and a few foreign countries to participate in the four-day convention, where they can meet their favorite actors, artists, authors, and creators, and talk about the stuff they love.

Guests – More than 400 guests, from the worlds of movies, television, comics, literature and other universes, will lead panel discussions and meet with fans. Some of this year’s top guests include William Shatner and Alexander Siddig, who will help mark 50 years of Star Trek plus Alex Kingston, Gillian Anderson, Jack Gleeson, Alan Tudyk, and Charlie Cox.

Brian Henson, master puppeteer and son of the late Jim Henson, will be on hand to talk about the 30th anniversary of Labyrinth. And puppeteers Brian Herring and Dave Chapman will talk about their work as the hands behind BB-8, the ball-shaped droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“We are delighted to have so many guests from so many of today’s most popular or, in the case of classic science fiction, best loved shows and movies to join us for our 30th Anniversary celebration,” convention co-chair Rachel Reeves said. “Overall, we will have some 400 guests – actors, authors, artists and other creators and experts – from across science, science fiction, and fantasy worlds, in whatever medium.”

Parade – For the first time, the annual Dragon Con Parade will be broadcast live on television by Atlanta’s CW69 on Saturday, Sept. 5 beginning at 10 a.m., with a rebroadcast during primetime.

The parade route remains the same as last year. Beginning at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Linden Avenue, the parade will head south on Peachtree, east (left) on Andrew Young International Boulevard and north (left) on Peachtree Center Avenue. It will end on Peachtree Center Avenue between John Portman Boulevard and Baker Street, in front of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

The route is convenient to three MARTA stations – North Avenue, Civic Center and Peachtree Center. Parking downtown is expected to be tight, and Dragon Con encourages parade spectators to consider taking MARTA.

Gaming – Already one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation, Dragon Con has expanded its gaming space by more than 60 percent for its 30th Anniversary convention. This year, Dragon Con’s gaming programming will move to the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the adjacent AmericasMart Building One, where it will take up a combined 140,000 square feet. Panels, contests, and parties will be held in the Westin while free gaming, paid tournaments, and similar events will be held in AmericasMart. As always gaming will be open to all Dragon Con members 24x7 for the convention.

“The strength of gaming has been a pillar at Dragon Con since our first convention in 1987. Just as the convention continues to grow, our ability to offer programming and gameplay does too,” convention co-chair Dave Cody said. “We are able to offer our fans more games, more gameplay, and more and better opportunities to talk with voice actors, game designers, and other guests from the worlds of table top and video gaming.”

Cosplay – Dragon Con is well known for the quality of its cosplay – or costume play – and that tradition will certainly continue. The nation’s top cosplayers will show off their best work during the show, participating in costume contests every night of the convention and promenading throughout the five host hotels and the streets of downtown Atlanta.

Cosplay competitions remain a mainstay of Dragon Con, including the queen of competitions, Dragon Con Masquerade, which is both the oldest continuously run competition in fandom as well as one of the largest in the world. The Chôsen, which premiered last year at Dragon Con Night at the Aquarium to a sold out crowd, returns again this year for a second annual appearance.

Official Charity – Earlier this year, Dragon Con selected the Atlanta Center for Self-Sufficiency as its official charity for 2016. Through auctions and other charity events, plus a dollar-for-dollar match up to $50,000 from Dragon Con, the convention will raise money to support this important community organization.

In 2015, the convention raised over $100,000 for its official charity, the Lymphoma Research Foundation – Georgia Market. Through the Superheroes community service program, Dragon Con fans contributed more than 900 hours of community service.

Dragon Con also conducts the largest convention-based blood drive in the nation. Some 3,000 fans donated more than 6,000 units of blood and blood products in the annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive, benefiting LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospital in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.

About Dragon Con

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music, and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

WORDFIRE PRESS AND ARADIO BROTHERS STUDIOS ANNOUNCES COLT THE OUTLANDER BOOK SERIES

PART OF A MULTIMEDIA PUSH MONUMENT, CO.

     Thursday, July 14, 2016 – WordFire Press has announced a joint venture with Aradio Brothers Studios to develop their successful Colt the Outlander series for readers who enjoy adventure and excitement in their science fiction. Colt the Outlander was created by the Aradio Brothers Dominic, RC, and Dante Pacella for the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine, the world’s premiere illustrated sci-fi fantasy magazine.
Colt the Outlander is a series about a rogue bounty hunter joined by his alluring yet deadly ladies. Together, they fearlessly scour the abandoned mining wastelands of Neb-6 for fugitives and treasures in fast-paced adventures.

     Colt the Outlander, an intellectual property by Aradio Brothers Studios, has ambitions to build their Colt intellectual property into a multimedia platform featuring video games, visual entertainment, comics and, of course, books. Aradio Brothers commented that, “Colt the Outlander has proven itself as great entertainment with amazing characters in a Retro Sci-Fi universe. Now is time to use that rich history and loyal fan base to reach entire new audiences that other mediums can provide. We are ecstatic to see our life’s work expanded upon by the likes of Kevin J. Anderson and the great authors at WordFire Press. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Colt the Outlander.” 

     WordFire Press, under its publishers Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta who are also internationally bestselling authors, has built an impressive stable of authors and storytellers. WordFire Press also publishes works by Frank Herbert (author of Dune), Pulitzer Prize-winning political novelist Allen Drury (Advise and Consent), New York Times bestsellers, Alan Dean Foster, Jody Lynn Nye, Robert Asprin, and Christie Golden, multiple award-winner Mike Resnick, Nebula award winner Gregory Benford, legendary comics writer Mike Baron, and Rush band member Neil Peart. 

     This is one of WordFire Press’s first forays into a multimedia tie-in, but with Publisher Kevin J. Anderson’s experience in tie-in properties like Star Wars, DC Comics and others, it will lead Colt the Outlander books on a clear path to success. 

     Kevin J. Anderson stated, “Colt the Outlander is the property that WordFire Press has been waiting for to bring in an exciting new readership. Aradio Brothers Studios have created a great world and characters for Colt the Outlander. Quincy Allen and I, along with other authors at WordFire Press, look forward to playing in that world and building upon it.” 

     WordFire Press and Aradio Brother Studios have jointly announced that a teaser novella written by Kevin J. Anderson will be available at the Dominic and RC Aradio’s tables in Artist Alley; AA-23 and AA-24 at the San Diego Comic Con. The first full-length Colt the Outlander novel will be written by Quincy J. Allen who has written Chemical Burn and The Blood War Chronicles. To be part of the adventure, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/colt.theoutlander 

     For interviews and further information contact Info@rabidfanboy.com 

Contact: Alexi Vandenberg, Marketing and Promotions 862-200-5977

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 5-Star Review (SPOILERS)

Where to begin?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens does NOT disappoint!!! 

It starts as we have all come to expect a Star Wars movie, with the now familiar slow story crawl that gives every movie goer a chance to catch up with the 30+ years that has passed since the events of the now legendary Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. Of course, there are a few things the slow roll forgets to mention. But, we’ll get to these a little later.

The movies beginning starts off, as one might expect a J.J. Abrams film, with a lot of action and its fair share of fireworks.

At this point, it is fair to say, that one of my very few quibbles with the film can be found. The intro of main characters, Finn played by John Boyega, a reluctant storm trooper, and Poe Dameron played by Oscar Isaac, the “best” pilot in the resistance, feels a bit rushed, but the instant chemistry of the actors and fast paced action mask the lack of early character development well. This and the fast “buddy” dynamic of the pair, as well as the fact that the story does help fill in much of Finn’s development in a very timely manner, if not entirely complete, manner, makes the pace a minor and very forgivable cinematic sin.

The character of Poe is one that is not entirely explored in this latest blockbuster in the franchise, which is all right with me, given both the limits of the slightly more than 2-hour cut and the fact that this story is part of a multi-episode arch.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

That brings us to the very well developed introduction of Rey played by the incomparable Daisy Ridley—incomparable because she introduces a female lead in a Star Wars movie in a commanding way that even her predecessor Carrie Fisher, arguably the originator of Sci-Fi’s tough heroine didn’t. Ridley’s well played Rey was one of this films most complex good guys and coupling her dynamic portrayal, great chemistry with Boyega and a kick-ass light saber battle that seemed to come from pure instinct, is sure to make her an instant star and a nerd heroine for the ages.

Ridley’s mastery of her emotional range brought all of the depth needed to a character that is poised to inherit the full Force of the Star Wars universe.

While the character of Luke Skywalker has no on-screen presence in the first … well, hours of the film, from the introductory text roll to the emotional reveal of actor Mark Hamill’s now aged and bearded face, the character inhabits every moment of this film. The emergence of fan favorites Han Solo and Chewbacca stepping onto the iconic Millennium Falcon for the first time in 30 years, is sure to set any theater ablaze with cheers and shouts. This only gets better as the elder statesman of the franchise, Harrison Ford, slips neatly back into his wise cracking, if only slightly wiser character. Rounding out the original series’ holy trinity is Carrie Fisher who manages to capture the audience with as much ease now as she did at 19-years-old, when she first donned her famous or rather, infamous, hair style. She gives the now General Organa even more poise and grace than in the originals and hasn’t lost a step when it comes to commanding both her troops or the audience.

This film does a terrific job at bridging the new generation with the world that fans have loved for 3 generations.

Introducing an all-new progeny of evil is the intense and amazing Kylo Ren played by Adam Driver. This blustery black-clad baddy is brought out in minutes, harkening back to the immense jackboots his character must fill if he is going to replace the galaxy’s most infamous dark lord, Darth Vader. Driver, from the outset, brings a new level of complication and nuance to his portrayal of the Solo son turned fanatic dark-side acolyte and impassioned grandson of the long dead Anakin Darth Vader, for whom the character seems to have an almost creepy reverence—but then, who doesn’t love “The master of evil, Darth”?

While this film does gloss over some key plot points to jump into the real meat of the story, it also does a fair job of making quick attempts to fill these holes with references, such as that to the infamous “clone army” that fist gave us storm troopers to juxtapose them with those of the First Order in this latest film, who are, as evidenced by Finn, not clones, but rather taken and raised, conditioned as the film states, to be the army of the First Order.

Books / EU / Tie-Ins (SPOILERS Maybe?)

While fans went into the theater, having been told not to expect much from the once cannon, now discarded Extended Universe, many were likely pleasantly surprised and now frantically curious, about how much of the basic plots, if only veiled and abridged, of at the least some of the many works of authors like Timothy Zahn with his The Last Command and the likes of Wordfire Press's Aaron Allston creator of the Legacy of the Force series (Book 1, at least), and its predecessor, the popular Kevin J. Anderson, Jedi Academy and Young Jedi Knights series, some of which has been boiled down and ground into spice for the stew that is SWTFA.

While the structure and framing have changed enough to be considered all new, the presence of Kylo Ren (Ben Solo, an amalgamated Jacen with a touch of Ben Skywalker perhaps), a Solo son once trained by Uncle Luke turned dark, a mysterious force sensitive Rey, whose parentage fans will doubtless debate until it’s revealed, the presence of the Star Killer, planet-sized super “Death Star-esque,” Base as well as the not so subtle rhyming of storylines from original trilogy and yes, even the largely panned prequels, pays at the very least, a high degree of homage to Zahn, Anderson, Allston as well as many other’s material, all grist for a new mill.

Star Wars fans can’t help but love this poignant return to a galaxy far, far away, as they sit on the edge of their seats through the almost perfect combination of action, comedy, drama, an entourage of classic characters and an assemblage new characters in a fresh new story that pays at least homage to a much loved EU and still finds a voice of its own.

Filled with all of the “dead-on-point” messaging touting friendship, family and hope, as well as it’s fair share of emotional strife, that climaxes when fans cry out in unison with Chewbacca watching beloved rogue Han Solo skewered at his own son’s hand, and falling to a heroic if unexceptional death (Shades of Return of the Jedi, anyone?), this film is sure to provoke audiences.

Rey’s parentage is perhaps the films most significant cliffhanger.  Many have already begun to speculate as to whether she is an estranged and hidden away daughter of Luke Skywalker, (conjuring a gender swapped Ben Skywalker or perhaps the 'lost' mystery progeny of the EU) or is she the second child of Han and Leia (once famed in the EU, Jayna and Jacen the "Jedi Twins," and poor lil’ Anakin, whose name may have fallen victim to the curse of the prequels), anyone?    DISCUSS!!! GO!   

This new franchise generation is sure to delight audiences as much as it did its veteran cast members, new comers, and … well, studio execs at Disney/Lucas Films as it has already broken box office records clearing a $100 million opening day and is set to climb higher than $250 million by the close of its opening weekend.

If you simply need all of the exposition that a 2-hour film can’t give you, you might want to check out the Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization by famed author Alan Dean Foster who penned the first Star Wars novelization with George Lucas in 1977.
AND... Check out Alan's interview with fellow author and longtime Star Wars FANATIC:  ME!

https://youtu.be/EGwmcp4qvQ4