finally, fandemic!

Highly anticipated new comic and movie convention finally hits Houston

Comic fans, rejoice: the Fandemic Tour is finally here.

The new comic convention — a three-day event — was originally scheduled for last fall. Unfortunately, that Hurricane Harvey ruined a lot of things, including this convention's launch. (Founder and former Wizard World CEO John Macaluso tried to schedule it later in the year, but several guests had scheduling conflicts.)

Nevertheless, Fandemic is here and has a lot of things in store for people who attend this pop-culture extravaganza. Here's a rundown of five major things:

The Walking Dead will represent
Since Sebastian Stan did his Fandemic appearance last month and Chuck Norris and Milo Ventimiglia have cancelled, the big stars who'll be at Fandemic are cast members from The Walking Dead. Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Pollyanna McIntosh, and Steven Yeun (RIP Glenn!) will be around on Saturday and Sunday. But they aren't the only big names. Several Guardians of the Galaxy castmates, including Dave Bautista and Michael Rooker, will be in attendance.

There will also be an interesting assortment of actors and actresses from long-gone (but still adored) WB shows, like James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville). Two men who've played Superman — Dean Cain (Lois and Clark) and Tom Welling (Smallville) — will be there. And for the B-movie nerds, Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead movies/TV show and cult-movie icon, will most likely be reciting beloved lines from those films to fans.

Artists abound
Since this is still a comic convention, there will be a number of well-known comic-book artists in the house, like Rob Prior, Geof Isherwood, Rags Morales, and Arthur Suydam (aka "The Zombie King"). But don't forget about such animators as Phil Ortiz, who's done layouts and character design for The Simpsons, and Tom Cook, who has worked for Disney, Hanna-Barbera, and Filmation. This convention will also have spaces available for younger artists — really, really younger artists. Thirteen-year-old Sealy resident Megan Staba will have her own booth, as well as 12-year-old Utah artist Shelbi Webb, who created the superhero comic Sugar Glider.

Thanks to conventions like these, regional artists also get a chance to shine. And over at the area known as Artist Alley, there will be a diverse array of writers, illustrators, cartoonists, pencil artists, designers, digital artists, and other creative folk —not just from Houston, but from all around the state. There will also be plenty of businesses around selling their merchandise. Our favorite that'll be there is The Flying Pig Phenomenon, which specializes in "all your aerodynamic and airborne farm animal needs." We don't know what that is, but we're sold.

A sea of cosplayers
Needless to say, expect cosplayers to swarm the place, dressed as their favorite superhero/video-game character/obscure figure you've never heard of because you're old and out of it. Pandemic will also bring in special cosplay guests Lana Marie and Maddy Lea, who is just nine years old and has been killing it in the cosplay game. But all eyes will most likely be Merly the Cosplay Dog, a five-year-old service dog whose handler has made over 40 different costumes for her.

Hot cars
Three well-known automobiles will be available for attendees to take badass photos with all weekend. First up, the Batmobile — or, should we say, a Batmobile that's coming from a family in Cypress. Someone from Kemah will bring in a recreation of the '73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (aka The Classic) that Bruce Campbell drove in the Evil Dead universe. Finally, there's a 1995 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, which has been converted to look like one of the jeeps from Jurassic Park. Cars, celebs, and cosplay — it looks like Fandemic is making sure comics isn't the only c-word you get at this convention.

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The Fandemic Comic Convention Tour will be this Friday through Sunday at NRG Center, 1 NRG Park. Show hours are 3 pm-7 pm (Friday), 10 am-7 pm (Saturday), and 10 am-4 pm (Sunday). Tickets are $40-$80. For more information, visit the official site.

Fan icon Bruce Campbell will...be Bruce Campbell.

Photo via bruce-campbell.com

Fan icon Bruce Campbell will...be Bruce Campbell.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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