AICN COMICS NYCC AFTERMATH: Nutmeg gives her NYCC report with ROBOT CHICKEN! TOMB RAIDER! BATKID RET

Nutmeg here! It's that time of year again. All the leaves on the trees are turning, there's a chill in the air, and even your bratwurst gets pumpkin-spiced. I still don't get the hype about the pumpkin spice, but that doesn't matter. It's time for your annual New York Comic Con report with Nutmeg and Matt Adler.

Thursday night we kicked things off by attending the ROBOT CHICKEN Season 8 Premiere Party. Seth Green, Tom Root, and Breckin Meyer emceed the event. Beware, spoilers to follow!

The party featured the premiere of the ROBOT CHICKEN DC COMICS SPECIAL III: MAGICAL FRIENDSHIP. Much of the content was based on the comics. Adam West also voiced himself as one of the many iterations of Batman. I love that ROBOT CHICKEN’s Superman is constantly making underhanded digs at Batman for not being a “real superhero”. The banter was nonstop, with Batman usually coming out on the losing end. There were also framing sequences featuring Colonel Sanders and the Robot Chicken, as KFC sponsored the party. Batman and Superman capes were given out as swag along with KFC t-shirts. I plan on wearing my Superman cape this Halloween. Sorry, Bats!

I’ve always known that NYCC has a ton of sights and sounds to experience, but this is the first year it was about tasting things too. Brought to life by gastronomic experts from chef Jamie Oliver’s FoodTube channel, Wikia’s Fantasy Food Truck brought New York Comic Con to a whole new level, with foods inspired by various fictional franchises. Now I’m no Gordon Ramsey, but I know what I like, so we dove right in.

First up was the COOKIE CAT, based on Cartoon Network’s STEVEN UNIVERSE, a strawberry and vanilla ice cream sandwich on two cat face cookies. Who doesn’t love dessert for lunch? It was absolutely delicious. Satisfying for a snack, yet not heavy like most ice cream sandwiches.

Next we tried the Critical Roll, a savory polyhedron inspired by the GEEK & SUNDRY show CRITICAL ROLE. This was surprisingly one of my favorites. I was ready for seconds. We then tried some Mabel Juice, from Disney XD’s GRAVITY FALLS. I expected this to be a drink, but it was actually a jello concoction mixed with gummy worms. This was really super sweet, and a little too much for me to handle. If you have a bigger sweet tooth than me, it may be for you.

Next up was an actual drink called Nuka-Cola, from Bethesda’s FALLOUT franchise, a light blue soda that tastes like a Sprite and Mountain Dew mix. I wish I could drink more of it, but I have two little ones on the way, so I need to watch my caffeine intake. Yep, Matt and I are expecting twins--if it’s a boy and a girl, we’re considering dressing them up as Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch for next year’s con! Greedy Milk, from WAARFRAME, was just as delicious. This drink tasted just like a cookies and cream milkshake. Again, I only had a little taste because I was trying to be good. It was a lot of fun to try all of these foods and witness the creativity behind them. You can find the recipes for all of them at recipes.wikia.com.

I got the opportunity this year to sit down and talk with the guys of AMC’s COMIC BOOK MEN, and it was a blast. Kevin Smith joked around calling COMIC BOOK MEN “the least successful Sunday night show” (after AMC’s very successful WALKING and TALKING DEAD shows). Smith said he doesn’t have a lot of input in the production of the show. He shows up for the podcast and is learning about what happened during that week at the comic book shop. Smith is often hearing about the stories from the guys for the first time as they are telling him. If they are planning the show, Smith may have one or two suggestions. For the most part, his role in this show is just to show up. Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson shared some of their insights on the show. Johnson is not bothered being in front of the camera. However, Flanagan takes a long time warming up to people. He said that because the crew has stayed consistent throughout the seasons, he's become more comfortable with the cameras being around.

I think I’m getting a reputation as a bit of a troublemaker in these interviews. Maybe you'll remember the ROBOT CHICKEN interview I did with Breckin Meyer and Matt Senreich last year. I had Meyer getting up and yelling across the room to Senreich. Oops!

This time it came to discussing how to read comics, digital vs. print. As you can imagine, as comic store owners, the COMIC BOOK MEN have strong opinions in favor of print. Personally, I prefer digital, because I'm visually impaired so it's easier for me to read since I can zoom in and out. But although we didn’t see eye to eye (see what I did there?) the guys were friendly and good-natured in our disagreement. I had a blast talking with Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen. These guys seem like they were the class clowns of the group. Zapcic ribbed Chen and said that his favorite part of COMIC BOOK MEN is that he can step back and watch Chen “put his foot into buckets”. Chen shot back that they got a TV show out of it! Besides the TV show, these guys are all about comics. Although Smith has worked on a BATMAN comic, he doesn't consider himself the Batman type. He joked that everyone needs to accept Ben Affleck as Batman since he got the part. Smith shared that his first look at Batman was the Adam West Batman series. Smith claims the series has changed his life, especially the way everything was handcrafted (from the bat symbol on Adam West's costume to the hand drawn question marks of The Riddler).

Chen said if he had the choice, he’d put himself into Marvel’s HAWKEYE comic. If he can’t be Hawkeye, he wants to be friends with him. We were in agreement over how Hawkeye was portrayed terribly in the AVENGERS movie. Chen would also like to be a part of the comic MANIFEST DESTINY. He thinks that schools should be teaching children the story of Lewis and Clark based off of this comic, not the actual historical events. Chen feels that kids would pay more attention to Sacagawea as a badass. Did it really happen? Who cares! Kids will get the basics of it. Zapcic, on the other hand, would put himself in THE WALKING DEAD comic for obvious reasons. He believes that his group, COMIC BOOK MEN, will be able to at least survive the first week. He predicts Chen knocking on his door begging for help after that. Zapcic likes the idea of being a part of the survival mentality and the paranoia. He believes it would all pay off. There’s not too much that doesn’t make it on air. For instance, Johnson will say that he’s going to sleep with all of the guys’ wives, all the time, and that makes it on air.

One of the iconic moments for these guys, according to Chen, has been having Stan Lee come to their shop. He pointed out that none of us would even be here, with comics as big as they are, without him. Zapcic joked there’d be no Javits Center without Stan Lee! I think Smith summed up the show best. He said that the guys on COMIC BOOK MEN are living the dream. They are enjoying the work that they do and having the freedom to do what they love.

From there we checked out Artist’s Alley, where the men and women who make the comic books hang out. Matt and I got to talk to Fabian Nicieza, Kevin Maguire, Larry Hama, Reilly Brown, Todd Nauck, Russ Braun, Justin Jordan, David Gallaher, Amy Reeder, Terry Moore, Peter David, Phil Jimenez, and Jim Shooter. Thanks for putting up with a couple of your hardcore fans, guys! Great seeing all of you.

Next I had the pleasure of sitting one on one with Dana Nachman, director of BATKID BEGINS. BATKID BEGINS is a documentary of everything that went into granting a Make A Wish for a little boy named Miles Scott. Scott had a wish to be Batman for a day. Scott was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 20 months. Among his earliest Batman stuff was Batman pajamas. Scott would dress up as different superheroes when he went to doctor visits, but Batman was his favorite. His wish came when he was 5 years old and in remission. Scott's parents were given three options for their son's wish. Turning San Francisco into Gotham City for the day was the ultimate decision. They originally wanted only 200 people to come and put this all together. However, 25,000 people ended up coming. From there, 2 billion people followed it online. Scott's father was struck by how many people showed so much compassion.

Scott is a big fan of the Adam West series, and sees Batman as a role model since he is a superhero without any real superpowers, an ordinary average person. BATKID BEGINS is the story of how Scott becomes Batman, how San Francisco was transformed into Gotham City, and how it all became much bigger than they ever dreamed. It's available now on DVD and will be available via Netflix sometime in November. As for Scott, he is in second grade and in remission. Being a cancer survivor myself, I was really inspired listening to Nachman tell Scott's story. It was nice to share my experience with Nachman, who was thrilled to hear my story as well. She said I should have gotten my Make A Wish, but I got something better than that--my life, and the chance to attend NYCC every year. That's more than I can wish for.

On the videogame side of things, I had the opportunity to check out one of the new characters coming to Kabam’s Marvel CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS game, a female hero named Guillotine. I know what you're probably thinking: enemies, beware of your head! Guillotine is a character with a sword that has a really intense power. When unleashed at the maximum level, a swarm of ghosts from her previous killings are released and take out your enemy. The effects in the game are chilling.

In addition, you can check out Guillotine's backstory in the Marvel CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS comic. It’s the story of Jeannine Sauvage, how her sword is a curse, and how it chooses who its holder will be. The sword's curse runs in her family and now Jeannine has to adhere to the sword's bloodlust. I highly recommend the game and the comic for Marvel lovers. I look forward to future issues of the CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS comic.

The games coming from Square Enix seem to get better every year, so I was excited to check them out as well. JUST CAUSE 3 is an action-packed game. The goal of the game is to take down the dictator General Di Ravello by destroying the dictator's propaganda machine. JUST CAUSE 3 features over 2,000 animations. This allows you to explore the 4,000 square foot island with all kinds of gear modifications to travel with. Gear modifications allow you to hop on random cars and steal them, use a wing suit to fly around the island, use a parachute at any point and safely land anywhere you want, and have any kind of equipment you may need at a later point delivered right to you. I know that last one sounded silly, but it's true. If there’s some kind of inventory that you need, it's sent via plane and dropped down from the sky to you.

The game even has some real life inspiration. Remember when the statue of Saddam Hussein was taken down in Iraq? In the game itself, there's a task that requires you to take down the statue of Di Ravello. This game is based on decisions that you make, so if you don't get what you want done the right way, you have to find another way of achieving that goal. Progress can be checked on the map that you can pull up. The map will light up blue and red. Red areas show occupied areas still under the dictatorship while blue areas show areas that you’ve liberated. There are tasks you can accomplish by talking with local people. This can help in gaining other goods to bargain with and may help get you out of sticky situations. In addition, there are leaderboard challenges that you can play to try and beat your friends' score. JUST CAUSE 3 will be available December 1, 2015.

One of the most beautifully designed games I've seen by far was HITMAN. You really get a sense of how all the space is used. There's a great attention to detail, even in the backgrounds and objects that aren’t meant to be used. The game feels as if you are living in it. The goal of the game is to receive contracts to take out high official targets. It becomes more interactive when you try to beat the challenge with a different approach than a friend took and beat their record. The catch here is that everything you do is in real time. There's no going back. If you destroy a piece of property, it doesn't come back if you try to restart--you have to find another way to get around it. HITMAN is the seventh game in its series. It has been a work in progress for the last 15 years. The makers of this game tried to bring what fans liked in the previous games and put it all into this one. The goal of the creators is to get all the fans together under the same roof. What is being done differently this time around is that there will be new missions each week and new locations will open up every month. The best part is, all of this is included when you pay for the game. That's right--no additional fees: one price, one really awesome game!

This game is so enticing, I'm tempted to go out and buy a new gaming system just to play it. The scenes are very romantic looking, set in the late summer to early fall. Be sure to look out for this game coming March 2016.

RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER is the next installment in the TOMB RAIDER series. In the last game, Lara Croft was finding herself. Now, she is the Tomb Raider. She is more confident and intelligent. She's using guerilla tactics, which makes her even more effective. This game is more of a storyline. There are specific goals that need to be accomplished. Lara Croft is trying to find out more about what it's like to be a Tomb Raider. She's digging into her father's research as she searches through the Prophet's Tomb. After having the chance to play a little bit of this game, I found it really difficult. You have to be quick with your fingers and it probably would help if I was more familiar with the controls. I also felt a little queasy watching the graphics anytime I died. Yes, I watch THE WALKING DEAD, but this was still too much for me, seeing my insides splatter every time a spike cut my stomach open (hope you weren't eating while reading that). RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER will be out in time for the holiday season. You can pick it up November 10.

DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED is the next installment in the DEUS EX series. The game is immersed in the world of organized crime. You go undercover to find hidden clues which will later help you in the game. Some of the coolest elements are that you can see through walls, pick up hidden codes, and detect bodyguards based on body heat. One of the nice things is that you can prepare for a level before actually going into it. DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED will be available February 26, next year.

LIFE IS STRANGE is due out later this month. This game is also about making choices, but there's a twist. If something happens that you're not happy about, you have the chance to go back and change it. That's right: you have the power of time travel. This time travel power doesn't take you too far back, but it can take you back just enough to change your decision. However, this will expire if you don't make the decision quickly. LIFE IS STRANGE is the fifth game in its series. The graphics are really realistic and the characters you interact with feel like live people you are chatting with. It reminded me of the movie THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. I enjoyed this game for the most part. I really related to the main character, Max, who is a bit of an outcast. My only criticism is that I felt there was a bit too much storytelling as opposed to actual gameplay. Otherwise, this made for some fun entertainment. LIFE IS STRANGE is available on October 20.

We had the chance to talk to some of the guys behind the new animated series WABBIT!, a Looney Tunes Production. We spoke with the voice of Bugs Bunny, Jeff Bergman; the voice of Porky Pig, Bob Bergen; the voice of Wile E. Coyote, J.P. Karliak; and the show producer, Gary Hartle. Hartle shared how he tried to inspire his writers, telling them that they're not just writers in front of a keyboard but storytellers, like the ones who tell stories around the campfire. As we were going over how the writers are putting together the show, Bugs Bunny himself decided to join the conversation. Bergman gave us a little sampling of his voice for the iconic character, which was spot on. Hartle said that when auditioning he really liked Bergman's take on the voice. The show evolved more when the characters all came together in the voice booth.

Hartle said that there's an organic rhythm when the characters go back and forth. You don't get the same kind of product if you put everyone in separate voice booths. There's more of a sense of what's funny and what's not funny. The fun really begins to take off when Hartle steps out of the way and everyone gets to unwind. Bergman shared the story when they were filming an episode where Bugs is surrounded by all his adversaries. Everyone is in the same room together and you don't know what's going to happen. There's crazy energy going on in there. With the scripts written to be only five and a half minutes long, you have to move things along really fast. The feeling of it is almost like a radio drama.

Hartle talked about how if an actor is given a line to read for the first time, it may come off robotic, but with retakes, they have a chance to get a feel for the line, and they can put more energy into it. Hartle calls it bringing the line to life. Karliak explains that Wile E. Coyote is all his. He heard a fan describe Wile E. best as a "lighter Sideshow Bob." He mentioned that although in past cartoons Wile E. was often silent, when he does speak, the character is very full of himself. In this show, Wile E. Coyote has the ego the size of Earth. The voice of Wile E. isn't ingrained into people’s mind, so there's room to shape it and play with it. Karliak said his favorite Wile E. moment was from an episode of THE ROAD RUNNER AND WILE E. COYOTE SHOW, which has two little boys watching the show, and one of them says they don't understand why the Coyote keeps chasing the Road Runner. Suddenly, the Coyote breaks the fourth wall and responds to the boy, giving a lecture on why he goes after the Road Runner.

As for Wile E. in WABBIT!, he's not hungry. Coyote is more egotistical. He's still obsessed with ACME products. However, chasing has become more of a sport. His building skills haven't improved much, either. For Karliak, playing the character means being more self-involved, self-indulgent, and dismissive. The direction he gets often from Charlie Adler, his voice director, is to be more hateful. Coyote often refers to Bugs as Rabbit or Rodent. The way it sounds drips with disgust. At the moment, the Road Runner has not shown up on the show, although in Wile's backyard there's a concrete birdbath with a statue of the Road Runner on it. As for seeing the Road Runner in the future, Karliak says that there are ideas being thrown around. Although he didn't share what they were, he did say they are brilliant. Matt asked if the Coyote has had to deal with ACME customer service. Kaliak said not yet, but he liked the idea! Karliak has fun playing the villain. No matter how badly beaten he is, playing the villain is inevitably more fun. Karliak's reasoning is that the hero is always one step behind the villain until the hero finally wins. Wile E. is so lovable in his inability to accomplish anything that you feel bad for the character. If Wile E. actually won, it would be a letdown, because there would be no win that would seem satisfying enough.

As far as playing Porky Pig, Bergen says Porky usually gets the best of Bugs. In the show itself, Porky is not played as the frustrated character he's been in some cartoons. Porky is more portrayed as innocent thrown into situations. There are conflicts that Porky is put in, but according to Bergen, he's innocent. Bergen says that there's been an evolution in the characters over the years based on who was making the cartoons. As far as letting a little improv in, Bergen mentions that they aren't stifled, but just to be safe, they always make sure to first get the take as written. The writing has been well scripted. Karliak says the show is about is taking characters that we loved for years and putting them in slightly more contemporary situations. Bergen says the integrity of the characters in these given situations is what makes them so everlasting. Ultimately, in the words of Hartle, "the point of the show is to make you laugh."

I also had the pleasure of sitting down with the cast of CW's upcoming series LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. For those unfamiliar with the show, it is set in the same universe as the THE FLASH and ARROW shows, and unites several more DC superheroes in adventures across space and time. Phil Klemmer, co-creator, writer, and executive producer, says coordinating all three shows is insane. In case you're not up to date, ARROW and THE FLASH have had crossovers in the past. We can expect more crossovers with those two shows crossing over with LEGENDS OF TOMORROW. It sounds really good on paper, but trying to get all these actors together can get hectic. The fun part of this series is that these characters that Klemmer has chosen-- Rip Hunter, The Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, and more-- are not in any comic together. They may seem like a random combination, but Klemmer explained that what they have in common may be their outsider status, and he enjoys rooting for the underdogs. He said that he likes the screwed up and crooked heroes. When you combine them together, it's a recipe for TV that's fun to write. We'll find out more information in the pilot, as Klemmer wasn't willing spoil us with more details. When it comes to any villain, Klemmer said the trick is to come up with somebody of commensurate evil. In other words, you're creating an antichrist if you want the challenge to be even. To that end, to get a bad guy who could match up against this team, the villain had to be the immortal Vandal Savage.

As for adding more women heroes into the mix, Klemmer has said that he is thinking about it. He did say that the women in the show can certainly hold their own. Klemmer did mention because of time travel, there may be other heroes that they can seek out and bring onto the show. Captain Cold and Heatwave don't necessarily fit in very well with the group of heroes. These guys are always going to be the object of suspicion given the fact that they have been bad guys before, so for the rest of the group it's an ongoing issue. On THE FLASH, these guys were only guest stars. Now that they are on this show, we get to dig in deeper about who they are and what drives their psyche. Klemmer hopes that the audience will be more sympathetic to these guys. The fact that these guys believe in each other is kind of heartwarming to Klemmer.

As far as locations are concerned, where ARROW and THE FLASH have been set in one location, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW starts off in a spaceship and moves to different eras and locations. These are divided into chapters, which are serialized. Unlike the other series where there's one bad guy each week, LoT will have about 2-4 episodes in each time period that the team visits before confronting the villain. The idea is to do the greatest hits of the 20th century. Each episode poses the question: if you have a time machine, where do you go and where do you intervene? On the flipside is Vandal Savage, in the role of the devil, steering the course of history and dipping his fingers into human events for his own evil purposes. The fun of the show is finding where Vandal Savage is at these points of history where the balance seems to be tipping, whether it’s the Cold War, nuclear annihilation, World War II, fascism, etc. If it was bad, Vandal is there, and the heroes have to stop him. In the past I've seen Brandon Routh speak at a Superman panel with Dean Cain, but I never had the chance to actually speak with him until this year. Routh, who plays Ray Palmer AKA The Atom, has found similarities and differences acting in the role of two different DC superheroes, Superman and The Atom. Ray had a life full of human experiences. Becoming a superhero was a choice, although the death of his fiance led him to don The Atom suit. As for Superman, he was sort of born into it. He didn't have a choice so much in the powers side of it, but he has chosen to do good.

The fun thing that's similar for both superheroes is that they both have an excitement and joy for life. Routh envisions Kal-El enjoying life through his alter ego as Clark Kent. All the goofiness and joy came from trying to be a part of humanity. Clark is so geeked out about it that he almost can't control it. It’s partly an act, but at the same time there is something genuine. Ray is excited about his inventions and the possibilities of the world, which brings out his inner goofy side. As for the show, we will see The Atom shrinking more. We'll start to see more of this about three or four episodes into the show. We will also learn more about the "TV science" (as Routh jokingly calls it) behind the suit. Routh says the craziest thing about the show is that everyone is all thrown in together. Right away everyone is hitting the ground running. There wasn't enough time to get full names or background of anybody. It's a matter of getting it done now, and trusting where everything is going. In the beginning, everyone is listening to Rip. They're trying to figure out what the mission is and the details involved. Nobody else on the team knows anything about time travel. As far as getting involved, Ray is the most gung ho, though he is actually challenged by the whole thing. Ray sort of questions himself a little bit, which is uncommon for him to do. He's not always the happy guy. But Ray wants to be a leader. Ray doesn't necessarily have any friendships with the other teammates, but has an understanding.

There are some excursions with Heatwave and Captain Cold. Each of the characters come to understand one another better. The series begins to explore how these people can connect. Routh calls it a cool metaphor for life. Everybody will be seen in every episode, but they are split up into different groups at times. There are a few full group scenes every few episodes. There are just some scenes where everyone has to get together, such as when they are being briefed on the mission. Routh mentions it's hard to shoot long scenes with eight people in the same scene. It becomes a scene of one liners for everyone, and more of a relationship scene instead of a storyline scene. When the groups are smaller it's easier to get the storyline out. As far as how Routh feels about his suit, he felt that there wasn't really any need to make it more comfortable. The helmet he had some slight complaints about, but nothing major. He says that he has become more comfortable being in it. I can only imagine that The Atom suit had to be more comfortable than the Superman suit, seeing as Superman’s outfit seems a little snug.

Arthur Darvill plays Rip Hunter, who is a time traveler. Darvill read for the part, given access to the top secret script. The character is well written despite being lesser known. Darvill says it's so good and different from anything he's ever done, he jumped at the amazing opportunity. Time travel is a cool idea, but with the demands of so many different sets and scenarios involved, it might end up killing the people working on the project! On the other hand, if it works, it could end up being one of the coolest things on TV because there's nothing else like it on television. He feels like it enrichens the world of all the related shows. In preparation for the part, he was informed about the character. Darvill was also sent a ton of comics to read about Rip Hunter. He jokes that it's a “nightmare” that he had to read, saying he could stay home reading comics in his underwear and call it work. I know if that was my job, I'd be in heaven. Darvill says he finds Rip Hunter fascinating. In Darvill's perspective, Rip Hunter's job is to keep time regulated. That type of job is a big responsibility. Darvill also talked about doing his own stunts. He's been training to look like he knows how to fight ever since the part was given to him.

Darvill was filming two days before, claiming that he was screaming all day like an idiot. Poor guy had lost some of his voice. I call that dedication to the show. Darvill says that Rip Hunter's job gets complicated quickly. Trying to keep people in line doing what they have to do to stay within the timeframe gets out of hand sometimes. Some of the other characters don't want to do what they have to do. Darvill says what he loves about any kind of time traveling shows is to be able to change something of the past and go to the future and see how it affects the timeline. It's a delicate matter, he says. Darvill called his parents after seeing his spaceship for the first time. He was amazed by it, calling it the most magical set he's ever been on. Darvill could not emphasize enough how huge it was. It's HUGE! It's got an epic scale--Darvill compares it to the Millennium Falcon and the Enterprise. He's hoping that it has hit that kind of magnitude in sci fi scale. One of the things he's very happy with is his chair on the ship. Darvill likes being inside the ship and riding in it. I found it interesting that Darvill likes how frustrated Rip Hunter gets. Darvill also likes that Rip Hunter has good morals, yet his character has a bit of an aggressive side to him. What it mostly comes down to is that Rip Hunter is a time traveler who can kick ass. What's not to like about that?

Ciara Renée, who plays Hawkgirl, says that her character is complicated and very closed off. She thinks that it would be difficult to make friends with everyone. All the tension building makes for good drama. Renée explains that her character doesn't remember anything, so when Hawkman shows up saying that they've known each other for centuries, that they're lovers, and that she doesn't realize that she has wings, it's a little jarring. From Renée's perspective, Hawkgirl's initial reaction to Hawkman is “You're a psycho.” Then Hawkgirl finds out that what Hawkman is telling her is real, but it's a little hard to accept all that information and be ok with it, so their relationship is a little at odds. As far as Renée sculpting her version of Hawkgirl, she says that they are picking and choosing from different storylines, basically trying to reincarnate different storylines melded together. There's a lot of possibilities of which version of Hawkgirl you're going to see come to the screen. In terms of fight choreography, you can expect a lot of fight scenes from Hawkgirl. Renée says that she loves every minute of the fight scenes. She likes to fake fight people. There's no specific type of fighting because Hawkgirl is going back to the basics. She doesn't really remember everything.

Eventually, her skills all come back. Hawkgirl is just trying to find out who she is and then very quickly finds out a whole lot about herself. We'll see Hawkgirl in a lot of scenes with Hawkman because she is training with him. As much as Renée's character doesn't want to be around Hawkman, she has to be. The two characters have very similar skillsets. Everyone does eventually get shuffled around. Renée says as far as reading the scripts goes, things are all over the place. Most of the time she shows up to wherever she is told to go. Renée jokes that she prays that the right lines are read. Renée says that she wants to do right by her character--she doesn't want to do anything that's going to make the fans think "Well, that's not Hawkgirl." Renée does realize that not everyone is going to be a fan of how she plays her character. She finds her character fun to play.

From the very beginning, Renée has been training how to fly. One tip she received from Routh is that the harness is not that comfortable. Renée's learned how to get into a harness and how to stop herself when she needs to. Learning to fly has been a fun experience for Renée. Moving to Vancouver has been difficult to adjust to for Renée. She is New York native, claiming that being in NYC felt like home. However, Renée has said that the sights of Vancouver are gorgeous. The previous weekend before NYCC, she climbed a mountain. There are no mountains around NYC to explore. The weather in Vancouver is rainier than NY. It takes a bit of getting used to. Renée said there should be more women superheroes in TV shows. She even thinks there should be a superhero show with a team led by a woman. Even though we're at the beginning, Renée said she's happy to see more women superheroes being incorporated in TV shows. I couldn't agree more. Girl powers activate! LEGENDS OF TOMORROW will be on the CW in 2016. The anticipation is already eating at me.

I got the chance to sit with some of the voice actors and crew of the BATMAN: BAD BLOOD animated feature. This was by far the most surprising interview that I sat through. For starters, I had no clue that I was sitting next to a GREY’S ANATOMY actor until I got home and looked him up. I'm a huge fan of the show! Anyway, enough sidetracking--here's the scoop: James Tucker, producer of the show, said that he wanted to introduce more side characters in the show. Tucker said he's a fan of the DC Universe. He especially likes lesser known characters, what he categorizes as "C listers." Tucker loves the Batman family, so when it came down to making a movie, there was no question it was going to be Batman expanded in a way beyond anything that's been done in animation. That meant bringing on two new additional characters, Batwoman and Batwing. The idea was to bring something fresh to the fans. Regarding the Batman family, Batman is the central hub in this wheel of characters. The focus of the movie was answering the question “what if Batman was gone?”. These characters are trying to figure out what to do without having Batman as a referee to go to. It’s awkward superheroes trying to get along when the main superhero is gone.

As far as preparing for the movie, Tucker has read the BATWING and BATWOMAN comics not just to get a feel for who the characters are, but out of pure enjoyment. Nothing was strictly adapted from the comics. Batwoman's backstory was taken from the comics, and some of Batwing's as well. There are very loose elements of BATMAN INC. in the movie.

Batwoman is the most exciting character being brought in for Tucker. He has pushed hard to have her brought into the movie. Most people had a hard time with this because they didn't understand the differences between Batwoman and Batgirl. People weren't familiar enough with Batwoman to understand the differences. The fact that Batwoman is a lesbian has nothing to do with who she is; it's just a little flavor that she brings to the table. Batwoman's sexuality will be mentioned in the film, but tastefully. Batwing is more of a Tron version of Batman. Tucker calls him the techno Batman. There's not a lot of that in the Batman world. In order to keep these movies fresh, Tucker says he looks at creating legacies. For reading comic books as long as he has, comic books are always recycling plots all the time. It can get kind of boring after a while. Tucker said it's about changing these characters up from time to time. He is even considering having Nightwing become Batman at some point. The goal is to eventually get to all the Batman characters. As for this movie, Tucker would have liked to have had Tim Drake. He's not Robin yet, but Tucker would have liked to have seen where it would go.

Jay Oliva, director of BATMAN: BAD BLOOD, tries to top himself on every movie that he has done. This movie makes number eight for him. In this movie, Oliva tried to up the action and drama. He doesn't want to look back on himself and think that one movie was good, but the following one wasn't as good. Sounds like this guy is his own worst movie critic! In regards to Batwoman, Oliva wanted her to seem more like a person and not focus too much on her sexual orientation. For instance, there's a scene where Batwoman is out with her father at a diner. As her father is pouring alcohol into his coffee, she tells him he shouldn't do that. Even during the meal, her father is eating a salad while she is eating a steak. It shows that she needs protein to do what she does, while her father is the one watching his weight. It gives her character more human qualities. Tucker and the writers come up with the first draft of the script. Prior to the final draft of the script, Oliva discusses any changes with Tucker. He likes to put his own personal spin on things too. For instance, with FLASHPOINT Oliva tried to throw in a BACK TO THE FUTURE reference. He likes throwing things he loves into the movies. Luckily, when Oliva asks Tucker about it he's cool with it. Oliva compares directing to music. There's highs, lows and flow to it like a rhythm. When he gets excited about it, then he knows that everything is where it should be.

Gaius Charles, who plays Luke Fox AKA Batwing (also known as Dr. Ross on Grey’s Anatomy), enjoyed watching the transformation of Luke Fox into Batwing. There's a really cool cinematic sequence where Fox puts on the suit for the first time. Charles says voice acting is unique. It's still acting, but naturally you have to put your whole performance in your voice. Charles went to school for theater and said that he has prepared for this in school by taking four years of voice training. Figuring out how to put subtle nuances into the performance has been the interesting part of the job. Charles has learned a lot while recording with Ernie Hudson, who plays his father, Lucius Fox. It has helped him shape who Luke Fox/Batwing is.

Charles didn't know that Batwing existed before coming onto the production. He was a Batman fan all his childhood. Charles shared how he'd dress up as Batman and run around the house. His first impression of Batman was also from watching the old Adam West shows. Charles said watching the Batman animated series was transformational. He feels like you can watch that show now and it has the impression of a new show, the show was so ahead of its time. Being that it's his first animated role, Charles wanted to do justice to the character of Batwing. This is the first time that audiences are seeing Batwing on the big screen. Sounds like a big deal for actor and character alike. Charles thinks it would be interesting to see some of these characters from BATMAN: BAD BLOOD branching out into the Justice League. With the new BATMAN V. SUPERMAN movie coming out, it would be nice to see some of these faces crossing into other universes.

From the look of the trailer, this is visually amazing. It still has the feel of the old cartoons, although the imagery is more enhanced from computer technology. You can pre-order your copy now, with BATMAN: BAD BLOOD expected out in 2016.

"Fresh out the box. Stop, look and watch. Ready yet, get set...it's ALL THAT!" This ‘90s Nickelodeon show was so iconic for me growing up! So when I had the chance to sit down to talk with Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Danny Tamborelli, and Lori Beth Denberg, it was great to reminisce. While preparing for this interview, I asked several people at NYCC if they could ask Kel Mitchell one question, what would it be? Everyone wanted to know, does he still love orange soda? Well folks, try to imagine his voice when you read his response: "I do, I do, I dooo...but the low calorie orange soda. I'm trying to stay fit." Mitchell shares that on the show, it was real orange soda that was used. There was a lot of orange soda to the point that it got crazy. He and Server joked about all that orange soda leading to diabetes. Mitchell says that he's afraid of going into grocery stores where orange soda is going to fall on him. Fans will bring him orange soda all the time (I was tempted to bring a bottle myself, but that would be a little crazy). People have Mitchell sign orange soda bottles for them.

Being part of a show that is now a legacy is amazing, says Server. You don't realize that you're part of something like that at the time, because they were kids. It's hard to recognize that you're part of something special when you're doing it. Now, to have it be relevant 20 years later, Server says he's grateful. Mitchell agrees; they get people who come up to them all the time saying that they were part of their childhood. Server has had people pay him the highest compliment when they come up to him to say they got into the entertainment business because of him. If there was a reboot of ALL THAT! in the works, both Mitchell and Server said they'd be a part of it. A reboot could work if there was a core audience for it. The guys joke about wearing the same clothes from back then. How silly would that look now that they've outgrown those clothes? When reminiscing about favorite memories from the show, Mitchell enjoyed all the musical guests they had on the show: Aaliyah, rest in peace, and Run DMC just to name a few. Server said having Chris Farley on the show was one of his favorite memories. Mitchell was also reminded of Tommy Davidson and Sinbad. These guys had the chance to work with some pretty iconic entertainers from that era.

The guys joke that Universal Studios was their backyard. It was like a high school reunion for Mitchell and Server to be seeing each other again. Server called it the high school reunion for kids who didn't get to go to high school. While everyone else is getting excited for their 10 year reunion, these guys had to wait for a comic con to host them. Mitchell came from a theater background, so when he came on the show initially he would try to use his projected voice. People on the set told him it wasn't necessary because there were boom mics. No need to speak so loudly. As far as things that he has learned on the show, Mitchell is always giving advice to the kids on his new show, GAME SHAKERS. He jokes that he's become like the Uncle Jesse of the show. The biggest thing Server has taken away from the show is what he learned about sketch comedy. It comes naturally to him now, although Server has also been trying to branch out and do other kinds of acting. He also took away the hours of experience that gained from time spent on the set. When he goes on sets now, he has the confidence of a pro--he knows what he’s doing and where everyone's going. Reunited, and it feels so good--that's the vibe I got when speaking with Lori Beth Denberg and Danny Tamberelli. The two of them shared meeting for brunch as a group. They were right back to acting like their adolescent selves. Dressed in matching pink outfits to look like they were going to prom, Tamberelli mentioned he forgot to bring the corsage.

One of Tamberelli's favorite memories from the show was playing bass with Wyclef. An even funnier memory was when he did a live version of a sketch with Kenan Thompson. They brought in a studio audience member and it was really messy. Chocolate was all over the place. Even the mats in place in case they fell were also covered in chocolate. Thompson and Tamberelli were slipping, falling all over the place, trying to get through the sketch. Through all the slipping and falling, Tamberelli is breaking things that shouldn't be breaking. Ceramic pieces were covering the floor. It's now looking like somebody is going to get hurt. Thankfully, nobody did, but the set was completely destroyed. Thompson and Tamberelli couldn't keep a straight face the whole time.

Denberg related a story that at the time wasn't funny, but sometimes the best sketches now were not the funniest sketches when they were being made. She talks about a GOOD BURGER sketch she did not play as Connie Muldoon, but another adult. She was just sprayed with ketchup and mustard bottles all over. The scene was suddenly stopped because Mitchell was being put into a harness. He was going to fly away out of the scene. Poor Denberg stayed frozen in her spot the whole time they were trying to get Mitchell in the harness. She wanted to be in the exact same spot when they were ready to shoot again. Bad mistake! Denberg was cold and covered in condiments. People kept coming up to her telling her that they were going to get it done as soon as they could. This kind of stuff doesn't happen in your normal average everyday job.

Looking back on ALL THAT!, there's an appreciation of what Tamberelli and Denberg did. They said to have people come up to you and share how much they made a difference to them is gratifying. It gives you a feeling of being proud of the show that you're part of. I felt truly honored sitting with Lori Beth Denberg. She's one of my TV heroes. Watching her on TV as a kid, I loved watching sketches like “Good Burger” and “Vital Information.” When I shared how honored I was being in front of her, she said it sounded like somebody needed a hug. Seriously, I did get a hug and she was touched that I shared. I asked Denberg and Tamberelli if they could time travel to the past, what would they change? Tamberelli said there’s nothing he would really change. He enjoyed every part of the show. At most, he would go back and change time so his sister wouldn't get hurt the one time she came on the show. Denberg had to remind Tamberelli that his sister injured her toe. The door went over her toe and popped the toenail off. Ouch!

Tamberelli jokes that it taught her how to open doors properly. As for Denberg, she would loosen up and have fun a little more. Coming from a theater background, things were taught to be more strict--just follow the script and get it right. She started to loosen up more towards the end of the show. Denberg told me to call her when I get my time machine. I will!

As far as other projects, Mitchell is doing stand up comedy besides GAME SHAKERS. You can find events on his website kelmitchell.com. Surprisingly, Mitchell does voice acting too. He plays a little pea on VEGGIE TALES and T-Bone on CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. He loves voice acting. Mitchell gets a kick out of freaking people out when he does the voices. Server had stopped acting since the show ended, but recently got back into doing it. He recently did a movie and uploaded it. He's now onto shooting another movie at the end of this month. Tamberelli is now in a rock band called Jounce. He is the bassist and one of the vocalists. Tamberelli still does sketch comedy, ManBoobs Comedy, at manboobscomedy.com. He is talking about getting Denberg on one of the shows. She's super excited about it and wants to get started right away. They’re already calling it GIRLBOOBS! Server has performed with the group before as well. Tamberelli tries to keep the ALL THAT! flame alive when he can. Denberg has a writing partner, whom she writes a variety of things with. They are copywriters at an ad agency. Professionally, Denberg officiates weddings as an ordained minister. She writes personalized wedding ceremonies for each couple. It's really a special thing to be a part of. Denberg truly loves her job. This is vital information I needed four years ago. I wonder if she does vow renewals. That could be awesome. To say the least, this reunion was a blast. I feel privileged to have been a part of it. With the pun totally intended, it was ALL THAT!

We attended a very interesting panel called A Force For Good: The Powerful Partnership Between Mental Health and Pop Culture. This panel was hosted by Jeff Trexler and packed with some awesome empowering people including Mara Wilson (of MATILDA and MRS. DOUBTFIRE fame), Jenny Jaffe of Project UROK, Broadcast Thought (Vasilis Posios, H. Eric Bender, and Praveen Kambam), Janina Scarlett, Dior Vargas, Darryl Cunningham, and MizCaramelVixen. The panel focused on how mental health is portrayed in media, especially in genre shows like GOTHAM. The panel showed a trailer for GOTHAM's new season. The trailer showed a villain described as insane running amuck around town and killing at random. The panel focused on this because mental health is often portrayed wrong through this kind of media. Not everyone with a mental health issue is going to act that way, yet we see it everywhere. Part of the problem comes from media, the people who hold the responsibility of telling a story. On TV shows, in movies, and in comics, mental health is being misrepresented.

This misrepresentation is having an effect on those who may have some form of mental illness. It's giving people a stereotype based on images that are seen, and can create a stigma for those people in society among their friends, family, and co-workers. It may seem scary because it's misunderstood. What is not seen is that people with mental issues are not less worthy than anyone else. Wilson spoke about how she dealt with her depression growing up. She thought that mental illness made you weak or inferior, when in fact it's very common. She explains that she still struggles with it, but has found strength in accepting it. Wilson feels that it is something we need to focus on more.

Some of the suggestions that were made in dealing with mental illness include staying on medication (if you're already on them), talking about the issue more, talking about not just how you feel but how others make you feel too, and being aware that not all mental issues are the same. Some panelists said that humor can help with mental illness because you have to laugh. Life is not always serious. People with mental illness don't say that they don't want representation. They just don't want bad representation. I guess it's a matter of time before it all gets done the right way. Representation of women in comics has come a long way; the same can be done for mental illness.

So that wraps up another year for the New York Comic Con. It was epic! So many surprises this year, I can only look forward to what next year has in store. Until 2016, this is NutMeg signing off.