Panels Part 2: Lockwood, Penguin, MLP, and Monster High

1) Todd Lockwood

Todd Lockwood is an extremely talented fantasy artist who has done lots of work for Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, and fantasy book covers. His panel was based on looking at his work over the years. He talked about how he started in advertising. This is his favorite ad because he had to make a streamlined plane into something super bulky.

Then he worked for TSR, the creators of Dungeons and Dragons, which led to being hired by Wizards of the Coast and becoming successful as an artist. His work is singular, recognizable, and beautiful. His dragon work is amazing because he thought out what kind of musculature and skeleton that would actually make sense.

Here are some of my favorite works by him.

2) The Penguin Books panel was kind of boring. They just read the synopses of upcoming books and gave some away. There were some interesting ones like a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but nothing super amazing. I didn't win anything and it kind of dragged on. I won't be going to the panel next year.

3) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

I was pretty lucky to get into this panel. My Little Pony has lots of rabid fans, as does Monster High (which was the panel after) and Magic: the Gathering (which was after Monster High). There was lots of fans cursing other fans for taking up space when they might not want to see whatever that panel was, but they really should be in a bigger room to accommodate more fans for each fandom. Anyway, My Little Pony was pretty awesome. The panel included Daniel Ingram (composer), Tara Strong (voice of Twilight Sparkle), Megan McCarthy (writer), Cathy Weseluck (voice of Spike), Andrea Libman (voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy), and Jayseon Thiessen.

They started talking about Equestria Girls, a film about the ponies as humans. I initially thought it sounded pretty dumb, but the story sounds interesting where Twilight travels to our world and finds people who remind her of her friends. Plus the song they showed is super catchy and awesome.



Then they talked about Season 4 and showed a few clips with the mane 6 as superheroes and Luna turning back into Nightmare Moon. They promise more movie references, more Zecora, a soundtrack (yay!), and a Rarity episode (finally). Then they showed this clip, which obviously isn't finished, but the song is adorable.



Can't wait for season 4!

4) Monster High

I had heard of the show and dolls, but never really knew much about it. Apparently it's about a high school with classic movie monsters with a focus on fashion. The problem I have with it is it doesn't seem to be very well written and appeal for those outside the focus age group is low. It seems to be trying for a teen audience, but the writing is more suited to middle school or elementary school aged children. They also seem to care more about selling and producing more dolls rather than making good stories and developing the characters they already have. The only thing I really like about it is that it's marketing horror specifically to young girls, which doesn't happen that often.

More panels to come!

SDCC 2012: Panels Part 3: Ponies and Magic

On to Friday! I really, really, really wanted to see the Firefly 10th Anniversary panel. However, people started lining up the night before and I just didn't want to sleep outside in line. It did seem like everything else was a little more empty because of the thousands of people lined up for that one event. So instead of saving a futile and very far away spot in line for Firefly, I waited in line for a much shorter amount of time for the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic panel. If you haven't seen it, it is much more awesome than the My Little Pony of my childhood. These characters are dynamic and interesting. Everyone can find aspects of themselves and their friends in these ponies because the writing and character development are exceptional. There are also really awesome references specifically for adult viewers to such things as Trainspotting, The Big Lebowski, Dr. Who, Star Trek, I Love Lucy, and Star Wars. If you are still incredulous, go watch the first few episodes on Netflix and judge for yourself.

* My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

This panel was packed! Lots of bronies and fillies and the odd child gathered to see what was in store for the next season and hear what the voice actors had to say. The panelists were Tara Strong (voice of Twilight Sparkle), Andrea Libman (voice of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie), Tabitha St. Germain (voice of Rarity, Luna, and Granny Smith), Cathy Weseluck (voice of Spike), and Megan McCarthy (writer who makes all the characters go insane). At the beginning, they played the extended version of the theme song, which was awesome.



After some questions like what's your favorite episode and how like your character are you, the fans got to ask some of their own questions. I'm glad someone asked about the future of Derpy Hooves. In case you don't know, she is a clumsy pony who has usually been in the background. It all started when they accidentally made her eyes all crazy or "derpy" looking. She was given a speaking role this last season and was deemed offensive largely by uppity parents because they felt she was making fun of people with disabilities even though removing a pony that they felt represents these people from the show seems even more offensive. I think she is merely a clumsy, sweet pony. She will remain a background pony for now, but may become more in the future. They were pretty close lipped about season 3 as a whole except when Tabitha St. Germain said that Fluttershy is turned into a dragon at some point and this clip (where Spike sings for the first time!).



There were a couple of pretty lame questions (like is Rainbow Dash a lesbian and a practically unintelligble question about Lauren Faust) but as a whole, the discussion let us know the actors and their inspirations better and see what direction the show will be going. I had no idea Cathy Weseluck was a classically trained musician or Tabitha St. Germain based Rarity's voice off of Audrey Hepburns. Hasbro is supportive of its adult fans and have shown that through the Comic Con exclusive doll, numerous references, and the names of many background ponies (Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Dr. Hooves, etc). I'm honestly glad that there are so many adult fans of this show because I think it's great. Adult males are a huge part of the demographic and I think people get mad when traditional gender roles are called into question, even if it is just with a bunch of guys liking an awesome children's show. The bronies and fillies are awesome and are the most creative and prolific fans, creating wonderful art, music, fanfictions, and generally enjoying a good show about the magic of friendship.

* Magic the Gathering

I've been playing Magic the Gathering for a long time and it's actually my boyfriend and I met. Ah nerd love. Anyway, I knew we HAD to see this panel even if we saw no others. The panelists were Mark Rosewater (head Magic designer), Aaron Forsythe (Magic R&D), Matt Cavotta (senior creative Magic art director), Mark Purvis (Magic senior band manager), and Scott Larabee (Magic organized play program manager). I was so excited to see what was coming up next for Magic and it was more than I was expecting. A few lands from the collection From the Vaults: Realms were revealed, including Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Glacial Chasm, Grove of the Burnwillows, Murmuring Bosk, Forbidden Orchard, and Dryad Arbor.

Then the next duel deck was revealed: Izzet vs. Golgari. The main 2 cards are Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Jarad, Galgari Lich Lord. That will be out in September. In November, the Commander's Arsenal will come out for those people (like me!) that like to play the Commander (or EDH) format. October 5th is the release the next set, Return to Ravnica. Here are some of the awesome lands to come:

Like the last Ravnica block, this block will feature 10 guilds of allied and enemy colors.The guilds will work be presented differently: 5 guilds will be in Return to Ravnica, the other 5 guilds will be in Gatecrash (the next set), and all 10 guilds will be in the last as yet unnamed set. These guilds will have one particular creature as guild leader. I am most excited for the red/white Boros angel and the black/white ghost.

Unfortunately, none of the actual cards were revealed. The prerelease will be interested because each player will choose a guild and receive a guild sticker, a letter for their guild leader, a guild themed achievement card, a guild spin down life counter, 5 Return to Ravnica booster packs, 1 guild booster pack, and a guild prerelease card that can be used during the tournament. That is super amazing and a good change to prerelease play. The next few months are going to be fun!!

More panels tomorrow! Last one!