Shatner, comic cons and football coming up

Let’s talk about comic cons and football.

Those are two of my favorite subjects and they’re both coming into play locally.

First of all, if you haven’t heard, William Shatner – Captain Kirk himself – will be in Sugar Land on Jan. 14 at the Smart Financial Centre. While this isn’t a comic con, it is a chance to see Shatner in person as he hosts a screening of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and conducts a Q&A afterward with the audience. Ticket information can be found at smartfinancialcentre.net.

I’ve never met the spacefaring actor but I have seen him in person a couple of times. I was impressed when in 2021 he went into space on a Blue Origin rocket for an 11-minute sub-orbital flight. He set a record as the oldest person to go to space at the age of 90. As he approaches his 92nd birthday in March, there is no telling how many opportunities are left to see him in person. If you can’t see him that Saturday, he will be in Midland on Jan. 12, Lubbock on Jan. 13, and Austin on Jan. 15. Information about all his appearances can be found at williamshatnertour.com.

On the comic con front, there will be a new one March 31 through April 2 at the Stafford Centre when the Pop Culture Power Show comes to town. This one does not have any movie stars making appearances, but does have top tier comic book creators and cartoon voice actors attending, along with popular local cosplay personalities.

Among the comic creators coming are former Marvel Comics writer and editor in chief Roy William Thomas (co-creator of Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Vision, Morbius), writer Larry Hama (G.I. Joe, Wolverine, Conan the Barbarian), artist Andrew Wildman (Transformers, G.I. Joe, X-Men: Adventures, Spider-Man 2099), artist Angel Medina (Spawn, The Incredible Hulk, Sensational Spider-Man, Warlock and the Infinity Watch, Venom), and artist David Angelo Roman (Rick and Morty).

Voice actors who will be appearing include Gregg Berger (Transformers, G.I. Joe, Spider-Man), Zack Hoffman (G.I. Joe), and Morgan Lofting (G.I. Joe), with more to be announced.

In Wharton, a Collector’s Convention will be held April 1 at the Wharton Civic Center. Alpha Comics, Wharton County Veterans Resources, and the Wharton Police Department are sponsoring the event that Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show will feature comics, sports cards, movie memorabilia, vintage clothing, and more.

 

Silver linings from football tragedy

My wife and I were watching the Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills when Bills defender Damar Hamlin collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest. At first it was an annoyance that they were taking so long to get an injured player off the field. Then word about what happened began to get out and the seriousness of the situation sank in. They were performing CPR on him and using an automated external defibrillation (AED) unit to restart his heart.

At the time of this writing he is still in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. While the nation was holding its collective breath for him, there were some very encouraging silver linings to come out of this cloud of despair. The power of prayer was on prominent display. You saw individual players and the Bills team kneel to pray. The game commentators called for prayer. And many of us on social media asked people to join us in prayer. It was one of the most unifying calls to prayer this nation has seen in a very long time.

Those who wanted to contribute in more tangible ways donated to the GoFundMe charity account he started to raise $2,500 to buy toys for children at a daycare center. That last I heard the fund had neared the $8 million mark.

Seeing how people have responded to this tragedy and pulled together has been refreshing and tells me that deep down we are still caring people who can put aside our differences and unite behind a just cause.

 

Beyond the NFL

As Hamlin recovers and continues to improve, the focus for fans shifts back to the playoffs and the Super Bowl. My eyes, however, are on the gridiron action that comes next. The XFL will return for a third time and along with it the Houston Roughnecks.

Although there isn’t a lot of buzz being generated about the XFL right now, I’m hopeful that the league will return with all the energy and pizazz that it had in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Photographing those games was genuine fun. It didn’t hurt that the Roughnecks were undefeated through five games either. Three of those games were at home at TDECU Stadium, where the University of Houston plays.

The fan-first focus of the league created an indescribable energy that I’ve never felt at a professional sporting event before. It was different than the energy and excitement you get in the NFL. The NFL is fun and exciting, but the energy level and fan engagement of the XFL takes it up a notch. At least it did in 2020. We’ll have to see what the XFL 3.0 brings when the Houston Roughnecks open the season at home on Saturday, Feb. 18, against the Orlando Guardians.

Joe Southern is the managing editor of the Wharton Journal-Spectator and the East Bernard Express. He can be reached at news@journal-spectator.com.