2012 will be the Year of the Dork

Break out your calendars Dorkmeisters, because 2012 is going to be our year! Looking into my crystal ball (OK, browsing online) I can see some very important dates in the Year of the Dork. By now you’re probably geeking over current releases such as The Adventures of Tintin or the Sherlock Holmes, Mission: Impossible, and Alvin and the Chipmunks sequels. On my Dorkometer I don’t place any of these other than Tintin higher than a five or six. (A 10 means I can’t wait, I’ll be there opening night; a five means I can wait for DVD; and a zero means you couldn’t pay me enough to watch it.) Looking ahead, though, there are several movies in the 8-10 range, including The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Three Stooges, Men In Black 3, Brave, and a slew of re-releases in 3-D, including Star Wars: Episode I and Titanic. The Dorkometer tends to be fluid, so other films may jump up and others may slide. These, however, are the ones I really want to see on the big screen in ’12. On the local front, plan to be at the George R. Brown Convention Center on May 25-27 for Comicpalooza. Now in its fourth year, the genrefest is lining up more big-name talent in the comic books and film industries. Among the celebrities already committed are Kevin Sorbo and Christopher Judge. Among the artists already inked are Michelle Delecki, Howard Chaykin, Shane Davis, Tyler Kirkham, Gerry Kissell, Joe R. Lansdale, Dirk Strangely, Chris Summers, Ben Templesmith, and Thom Zahler. To be sure this is only the start of a long list of guests. Last year’s convention included Edward James Olmos, Jeremy Bullock, Marina Sirtis, and scores more actors and artists. The festival included roller derby, wrestling, quidditch, a huge Lego display and all kinds of fan clubs and vendor booths. There were more workshops than you could wave a wand at. This year’s event looks like it will be bigger and better for the tens of thousands of attendees. Stay tuned for more! On the day after Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you), May 5, set your phasers on fun at your friendly neighborhood comic shop for Free Comic Book Day. My favorite local comic shop is Odyssey Comics and Cards in Katy. Owner Greg Sohiden keeps a huge line of current and classic titles, toys and trading cards. He is always well stocked for FCBD and I suspect he will be again this year. There are dozens of comics being published this year for FCBD, but the most anticipated will be Marvel’s Avengers #12.1 and DC’s The New 52 Special Edition. Much like DC did last year with the anticipated release of the Green Lantern movie when it really hyped the character, Marvel will take its shot this year with Avengers. DC made a splash this year when it did its New 52 relaunch of its most popular titles. The freebie will be interesting to see. While Marvel is putting out a Spider-Man comic for FCBD, it is not getting nearly the hype that it should with the reboot of the movie franchise this summer with The Amazing Spider-Man. My guess is that has more to do with Sony trying to retain film rights, preventing Marvel’s new studio from capitalizing on its most popular and marketable character. Out on the horizon for those of you who don’t mind traveling to cons, San Diego Comic Con, the daddy of ’em all, is slated for July 12-15. One of these years I’m going to make that one. The New York Comic Con is set for Oct. 11-14. Atlanta’s Dragon Con is Aug. 31 through Sept. 3. Starfest in Denver is April 20-22. Closer to home, the Austin Comic Con has yet to pick a date, but the Dallas Comic Con featuring none other than Stan Lee is coming up May 19-20. The Dallas Sci-Fi Expo is on tap Feb. 11-12. There are many others across the country and this only scratch the surface, but these are the big ones and ones of regional interest. I will announce more events as they come up. In the meantime, when you find that new Star Wars calendar in your stocking you can start blocking off some of these dates. So there you have it True Believers. Signing off for this week, I am the Dork Ranger!