It’s not hard to find the crowd heading towards the New York City Comic Con. Still, there’s no reason to goof on the cliché of the comic book nerd. The scene at the Javits Center in late February doesn’t look much different than any audience at an Arcade Fire show. The line’s longer, of course. It remains better to be waiting there than to be where I’m heading. Forget beating up on the comic book geeks. The true nerds are the kind of fame geeks who’ll show up to be in something like “Who Wants To Be A Superhero?”.
There’s a second season coming up for the Sci Fi Channel’s reality show, and that’s news in itself. I was under the impression that the network had canceled the first season before a winner was declared. Turns out the victor was Feedback—aka Matthew Atherton, whose previous credits included an episode of “Malcolm In The Middle.” Now, he’ll be getting his very own comic book series. The promised Sci Fi Channel Original Movie, however, seems less certain.
Despite failing to achieve “Survivor”-like ratings, “Who Wants To Be A Superhero?” is once again looking for wannabe saviors of the world. The Comic Con is a good place to start. Lots of TV types are here to prowl for real people. I run into two segment producers from other TV shows on my way to the “Superhero” casting room.
The place is easy to find. It’s just down the hall from the Manga Library. The audition line is already forming, a modest collection of about eight people. That’s OK. In a pinch, they could send out production assistants to round up more folks.
That’s especially true since it’s a chance to meet Stan Lee. The legendary Marvel Comics figure (and “Superhero” host) gets a round of applause as he comes down the hall. He then enters the audition room, and—to my total lack of surprise—starts signing stuff.
The only other people in the room are with the Sci Fi Channel. I don’t know what he’s signing, but I’m sure that Stan Lee has given more autographs than any other personality in creation. I’ve got a Spider-Man necktie that Stan Lee signed a few years ago. I didn’t even ask for it. He just gave it to me.
A publicist tells me that I can talk to Stan Lee, but I politely decline. Stan’s great, but I’m here in more of a supervisory capacity. Then I’m invited to interview some of the people who are auditioning. The first guy in line is already talking to someone from a radio show. The would-be hero is called SuperChunk, and is going on about his super powers: “I also have a capacitor set in my back that works as a stun gun, and …”
I don’t really want to have that kind of conversation.
The second person in line is older, and looks like Captain Occult Bookstore. He’ll later explain that he’s a mentalist and hypnotist. So was Mandrake the Magician, so that’s cool. The third in line is wearing a leather outfit worthy of professional wrestling or any sex club.
A very handsome man in a nice suit walks up to me. He asks if there’s a line for the auditions.“Yes,” I reply, “starting behind that guy in the banana suit.” To my surprise, he takes a place there. The closest I can imagine is that he’s Dylan McDermott Man. I take a closer look and realize I know the guy in the banana suit. Not personally. It’s just CC Banana, who frequently shows up at rock shows—usually by punk acts—in his full banana regalia. The guy’s practically a superhero already.
Everyone’s filling out a sheet with personal information: “What is your motivation for doing the show?” “What event or person in your life inspired you to create this character?” “Are you currently taking or have you recently been taking psychiatric medication?” I’m not sure which answer to that last question is more likely to get you past the “Super-hero” auditions.
A hot babe from IGN.com is taping some interviews. She’s talking to the guy in the leather outfit. He’s Solar—or So-Lar, or maybe Solarr—and he’s got a rap about how he encourages people not to burn fossil fuels. That’s the kind of p.c. crap that helped kill the comics industry. Then she moves on to CC Banana, who proves to be a true star:
“What’s your power?”
“I have superhuman endurance. I can annoy somebody longer than anyone.”
“How so?”
“Keep talking to me. You’ll find out.”
Like most of the contenders, CC Banana is in his thirties. He’s working an old-man vibe where he’s constantly calling all the ladies by various terms of endearment. An attractive woman in leather walks over and gives him a look.CC Banana strolls over as suavely as he can: “You seem intrigued, dear.”Actually, she’s with the production and is bringing him to the front of the line. That’s a good sign.
More people are showing up. There’s a fey fellow in tights who seems set to do a juggling act. This is probably a good gig if you’re looking to break out of the Renaissance Faire circuit. The only two black contestants are in competition to be Doo Rag Man. One of them is in a black leather trench coat. He kind of looks like Marvel’s latest reimagining of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
I’d say he’s got a better chance than his Doo Rag competition who’s all draped in green velvet. That outfit looks more like Voguing Man than SuperPimp. The man in the trench coat could call himself Ace of Spades. Luke Cage once considered that one, but went with Power Man.
There’s a token hot anime gal in pink hair and a few pieces of white patent leather. Her superpower has something to do with her outfit’s ability to ride up her thighs while she’s sitting on the ground and filling out her application. Her weakness is a less attractive friend for whom you’d have to find a date.
I go in to check out an audition. I’ve missed out on CC Banana, but I get to see Reflector—aka that fey fellow from the Renaissance Faire. I’ve already gotten a bad feeling about him after I saw the guy doing stretching exercises.
I’m not impressed by Reflector’s ability to spin his shiny hoop. At least he’s got a pretty good rap about his amazing power to deflect negativity and embrace positivity. Stan Lee seems impressed with the idea of how Reflector could overcome a bank robber by making the bad guy feel genuinely bad about his actions.
That’s OK for comic books, I guess. The only problem is when we apply that kind of thinking to social policies.
It’s been about an hour of all this, and I’m ready to head out. I make a quick stop to fill in that producer lady about CC Banana’s punk-rock exploits. He couldn’t think of a good way to bring it up himself, but I think it’ll help his chances. The banana certainly has a better shot than the last person I see joining the audition line. It’s some weirdo dolled up in a giant pair of big antlers. DC Comics already has a hero called The Human Target.
There’s a second season coming up for the Sci Fi Channel’s reality show, and that’s news in itself. I was under the impression that the network had canceled the first season before a winner was declared. Turns out the victor was Feedback—aka Matthew Atherton, whose previous credits included an episode of “Malcolm In The Middle.” Now, he’ll be getting his very own comic book series. The promised Sci Fi Channel Original Movie, however, seems less certain.
Despite failing to achieve “Survivor”-like ratings, “Who Wants To Be A Superhero?” is once again looking for wannabe saviors of the world. The Comic Con is a good place to start. Lots of TV types are here to prowl for real people. I run into two segment producers from other TV shows on my way to the “Superhero” casting room.
The place is easy to find. It’s just down the hall from the Manga Library. The audition line is already forming, a modest collection of about eight people. That’s OK. In a pinch, they could send out production assistants to round up more folks.
That’s especially true since it’s a chance to meet Stan Lee. The legendary Marvel Comics figure (and “Superhero” host) gets a round of applause as he comes down the hall. He then enters the audition room, and—to my total lack of surprise—starts signing stuff.
The only other people in the room are with the Sci Fi Channel. I don’t know what he’s signing, but I’m sure that Stan Lee has given more autographs than any other personality in creation. I’ve got a Spider-Man necktie that Stan Lee signed a few years ago. I didn’t even ask for it. He just gave it to me.
A publicist tells me that I can talk to Stan Lee, but I politely decline. Stan’s great, but I’m here in more of a supervisory capacity. Then I’m invited to interview some of the people who are auditioning. The first guy in line is already talking to someone from a radio show. The would-be hero is called SuperChunk, and is going on about his super powers: “I also have a capacitor set in my back that works as a stun gun, and …”
I don’t really want to have that kind of conversation.
The second person in line is older, and looks like Captain Occult Bookstore. He’ll later explain that he’s a mentalist and hypnotist. So was Mandrake the Magician, so that’s cool. The third in line is wearing a leather outfit worthy of professional wrestling or any sex club.
A very handsome man in a nice suit walks up to me. He asks if there’s a line for the auditions.“Yes,” I reply, “starting behind that guy in the banana suit.” To my surprise, he takes a place there. The closest I can imagine is that he’s Dylan McDermott Man. I take a closer look and realize I know the guy in the banana suit. Not personally. It’s just CC Banana, who frequently shows up at rock shows—usually by punk acts—in his full banana regalia. The guy’s practically a superhero already.
Everyone’s filling out a sheet with personal information: “What is your motivation for doing the show?” “What event or person in your life inspired you to create this character?” “Are you currently taking or have you recently been taking psychiatric medication?” I’m not sure which answer to that last question is more likely to get you past the “Super-hero” auditions.
A hot babe from IGN.com is taping some interviews. She’s talking to the guy in the leather outfit. He’s Solar—or So-Lar, or maybe Solarr—and he’s got a rap about how he encourages people not to burn fossil fuels. That’s the kind of p.c. crap that helped kill the comics industry. Then she moves on to CC Banana, who proves to be a true star:
“What’s your power?”
“I have superhuman endurance. I can annoy somebody longer than anyone.”
“How so?”
“Keep talking to me. You’ll find out.”
Like most of the contenders, CC Banana is in his thirties. He’s working an old-man vibe where he’s constantly calling all the ladies by various terms of endearment. An attractive woman in leather walks over and gives him a look.CC Banana strolls over as suavely as he can: “You seem intrigued, dear.”Actually, she’s with the production and is bringing him to the front of the line. That’s a good sign.
More people are showing up. There’s a fey fellow in tights who seems set to do a juggling act. This is probably a good gig if you’re looking to break out of the Renaissance Faire circuit. The only two black contestants are in competition to be Doo Rag Man. One of them is in a black leather trench coat. He kind of looks like Marvel’s latest reimagining of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
I’d say he’s got a better chance than his Doo Rag competition who’s all draped in green velvet. That outfit looks more like Voguing Man than SuperPimp. The man in the trench coat could call himself Ace of Spades. Luke Cage once considered that one, but went with Power Man.
There’s a token hot anime gal in pink hair and a few pieces of white patent leather. Her superpower has something to do with her outfit’s ability to ride up her thighs while she’s sitting on the ground and filling out her application. Her weakness is a less attractive friend for whom you’d have to find a date.
I go in to check out an audition. I’ve missed out on CC Banana, but I get to see Reflector—aka that fey fellow from the Renaissance Faire. I’ve already gotten a bad feeling about him after I saw the guy doing stretching exercises.
I’m not impressed by Reflector’s ability to spin his shiny hoop. At least he’s got a pretty good rap about his amazing power to deflect negativity and embrace positivity. Stan Lee seems impressed with the idea of how Reflector could overcome a bank robber by making the bad guy feel genuinely bad about his actions.
That’s OK for comic books, I guess. The only problem is when we apply that kind of thinking to social policies.
It’s been about an hour of all this, and I’m ready to head out. I make a quick stop to fill in that producer lady about CC Banana’s punk-rock exploits. He couldn’t think of a good way to bring it up himself, but I think it’ll help his chances. The banana certainly has a better shot than the last person I see joining the audition line. It’s some weirdo dolled up in a giant pair of big antlers. DC Comics already has a hero called The Human Target.
