Tag Archives: Wonder Woman

Grand Rapids Comic Con launches as nation celebrates Wonder Woman

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It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s Wonder Woman Day.

 

Friday, Oct. 21, has been named Wonder Woman Day in honor of the first female superhero who marks her 75th anniversary. Wonder Woman has been named the U.N. Honorary Ambassador for empowerment of woman and girls. An event celebrating the special day has been planned in New York and to top off the event Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter will be present. In fact, expect to see more of Carter on television as she is scheduled to appear as president in a few upcoming episodes of “Supergirl.”

 

Even the post office is celebrating the 75th anniversary with a new line of forever stamps featuring Wonder Woman.

 

And expect to see a few Wonder Womans wandering Grand Rapids this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21 – 23, as the Grand Rapids Comic-Con roles into town at DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave. NW.

 

Looks like there is a full list of events and celebrities. For those “Hunger Gamse” fans Bruno Gunn will be attending along side Robin Shelby from “Ghostbusters 2.” Also attending are Denise Crosby, best known for Security Chief Tasha Yar on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”  and most recently seen in “The Walking Dead,” and Sean Maher of “Firefly,” “Arrow,” and “Con Man.” Also two red Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Steve Cardenas and Austin St. John, along with several of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other celebrities are scheduled to attend this year’s Grand Rapids Comic Con.

 

There will be lots going on in the exhibit hall from demonstrations to various products and items for sale. Artists will be on hand to talk about their work, sell prints and for autographs.

 

There will be two exhibitions, one from the Wes Shank Museum, featuring items form Shank’s private collection of props from vintage science fiction movies, and the Hall of Heroes Museum, from Elkhart, Indiana, that will have several items on display including the motorcycle from “Ghost Rider,” the screen used ring worn from the 2011 “Green Lantern,” along with displays of the Golden Age Marvel and DC comic books and lots of superhero toys form days gone by.

 

There will be gaming, discussions, photo ops and presentations by celebrities and lots more. For a complete schedule, visit grcomiccon.com.

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con: Warner Brothers at Hall H

Wonder Woman CastFor the second straight year, Katelyn visited Comic-Con in San Diego. In case you missed it: Wonder Woman had an anniversary, Her Universe had a fashion show, and costumes galore!

 

Written and photographed by: Katelyn Kohane

 

“I was brought to life by Zeus.” – Wonder Woman

 

We finally made it into Hall H a little after 10am after camping out all night on Saturday. I planned on staying in Hall H all day because the line up was capital A-mazing!

 

Warner Brothers kicked off the day with a lineup that included Wonder Woman, Justice League, Suicide Squad, The Lego Batman, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Kong: Skull Island, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I would expect nothing less than the incredible lineup we got with Warner Brothers.

 

On top of the great lineup, the morning was hosted by none other than Conan O’Brien!

 

The presentation began with a fantastic trailer for Wonder Woman that was followed by O’Brien introducing the cast. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, and Director Patty Jenkins were on the panel to talk about the movie. Gal Gadot summed it up nicely when she mentioned that it took “a lot of hard work and patience.”

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After Wonder Woman came a surprise guest, the cast for Justice League. While they couldn’t stay long – they were headed over to the film set – they stayed long enough to show the trailer and talk to the crowd. Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Director Zack Snyder were in attendance.

 

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Suicide Squad, which is currently in theaters, took time on Saturday to pay a visit to Hall H.

 

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After the Suicide Squad cast made their appearance, we were shown the trailer for The Lego Batman movie and we had the opportunity to see Chris Mckay and Will Arnett. Then we saw the trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Charlie Hunnam came and spoke for a little while. When asked how he prepared for such a role, Charlie Hunnam said he tried not to think about it too much.

 

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Next on tap was Kong: Skull Island! Tom Hiddleston (Loki!), Brie Larson, John Goodman (Roseanne and Speed Racer), Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchel and Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts appeared onstage. The movie was filmed in three countries and we were given the first glimpse of the trailer at Comic-Con.

 

And to end our morning in Hall H, we were shown the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The movie is a story inside the universe of Harry Potter. After the trailer, we were introduced to Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, and David Yates.

 

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The first part of the morning certainly had an amazing line up of guests and trailers! “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned to see what happens the rest of the day in Hall H! As a spoiler I will mention Star Trek. Until next time…“Live Long and Prosper.”

Adventures at San Diego Comic-Con: Wonder Woman has an anniversary

My new badge on the Left and my old badge on the right. A much improvement from the year before.
My new badge on the Left and my old badge on the right. A much improvement from the year before.

By: Katelyn Kohane

 

It’s that time of year again! Time for San Diego Comic-Con, a five-day journey that I – Katelyn – was lucky enough to attend for the second straight year. Stay tuned and follow my adventures as a member of the press through the madness that is San Diego Comic-Con.

 

Last year I was able to attend the San Diego Comic-Con for the first time as a member of the press. This year, my badge was mailed out early so I could attend Preview Night on Wednesday. Getting the badge early was a nice addition and made checking in faster and hassle free, all I had to pick up was my bag and books. I heard the bags had at least 20 different designs and I went in search of a Supergirl bag but ended up finding one with a design of the Big Bang Theory.

 

Once I checked in and had my bag, I headed up to Ballroom 20. Jeff Tobler from Warner Brothers Television came and introduced what we would be watching for the night. First up was Riverdale, which is a murder mystery TV show based on Archie. It will air on the CW network later this year.

 

San Diego Comic-Con 2016The Second preview shown was called Powerless, a show from DC Comics featuring Vanessa Hudgens. Vanessa Hudgens will play Emily who works in the insurance field runs into her fair share of superheros along the way. This will air on NBC network later this year.

 

After the Powerless preview, I left Ballroom 20 and went down to the main floor and wound up buying 2 graphic novels.

 

Then I headed out to a Press Event that I was invited to for the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman. The event was staged to introduce the new invisible jet and I made sure to get there a little early to have a good view of the big reveal.

 

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A few fun facts about Wonder Woman since it’s her 75th Anniversary: she first appeared in comic world in October 1941 in All-Star Comics #8; many fans know her by her metal bracelets and magic lasso.

 

With the year-long celebration fans can look forward to finding new comics and graphic novels.

 

Wonder Woman has been voiced by Rosario Dawson, Lucy Lawless (who I will touch on in a later article), Maggie Q, Susan Eisenberg and many more. Live action we have Lynda Carter and now Gal Gadot (one of my favorite actresses from the Fast and Furious series). Gal Gadot appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and her up coming film Wonder Woman which starts June 2nd 2017. She will also appear in the coming Justice League movies.

 

Preview night is still as exciting as the first time going, only bigger and better. “Your mission should you choose to accept it…” is to stay tuned for my next article. And as a spoiler I will mention the Her Universe Fashion Show.

 

“I am Master Skywalker’s Padawan. The name’s Ahsoka Tano.”

 

Katie works in the film industry as a camera operator and has worked on films like ‘All You Can Dream’, ‘Set Up’ and a TV show called ‘American Fallen Soldier.’ She loves helping WKTV as a Citizen Reporter and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!

Batman v Superman: From Hall H to the big screen

Batman v Superman

By: Katelyn Kohane

 

“The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God vs Man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!”

 

First two rows: Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Bottom left: Gal Gadot, bottom center: Jesse Eisenberg, and bottom right: Amy Adams.
First two rows: Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Bottom left: Gal Gadot, bottom center: Jesse Eisenberg, and bottom right: Amy Adams.

Last year, I was lucky enough to get into Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con for a first look at Batman v Superman. The preview was amazing and the whole cast was there! I had the privilege to see Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot and Zach Snyder.

 

Let’s take a quick glance back at some of the actors and actresses who have portrayed some of these great characters: Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and Wonder Woman.

 

Lois Lane has been portrayed by Noel Neill, Margot Kidder, Teri Hatcher, Erica Durance, and now Amy Adams.

 

Lex Luthor has been portrayed by Kevin Spacey, Gene Hackman, Lyle Talbot, Michael Rosenbaum (who is my favorite Lex Luthor uptil now.) and now Jesse Eisenberg.

 

Batman v Superman Hall HWonder Woman has been portrayed by Lynda Carter and now Gal Gladot (she is awesome. Loved her in Fast and the Furious).

 

Superman has been portrayed by Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, Tom Welling (my favorite Superman), Brandon Routh and now Henry Cavill.

 

Last but not least, of course, is Batman who has been portrayed by Adam West, George Clooney, Val Kilmer (one of my favorite actors), Christian Bale (my favorite Batman) and now Ben Affleck.

 

Ben Affleck held his own as Batman
Ben Affleck held his own as Batman

It certainly was humbling being in Hall H to see the new characters in person. Many people, including myself, were worried about Ben Affleck playing Batman. However, that worry is no longer there. I think he has proved that he can tackle the role.

 

I personally enjoyed this take on Batman v Superman, and while I loved parts of the cast, there is certainly room for improvement. Superman is overshadowed by Batman, and I am team Batman all the way. This Batman is a little darker than normal with Batman utilizing more guns. Hey, desperate times call for darker measures.

 

Within the first two days of release, I had already made it to the theater twice to soak in all the action. In fact, I liked it so much that I even bought the sound track composed by Hans Zimmer.

 

As the movie opens you see separate sides of both Batman and Superman. We catch up with Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent and Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) at a party hosted by Lex Luthor. Bruce Wayne comes to investigate Lex Luthor and Diana Prince is at the party to see if she can get a picture back from Lex that he stole from her. Diana ends up stealing the hard drive from Bruce, but since she can’t unlock it, she ends up giving it back to Bruce.

 

Bruce becomes more of a detective and unlocks the hard drive to find a picture of Diana. He also notices that Lex has found others like her including the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.

 

Superman had to answer to the Senate
Superman had to answer to the Senate

Superman gets into some trouble and the Senate holds a hearing. Lex blows up the hearing and starts even more trouble. Lex kidnaps Lois Lane and Martha Kent. Superman saves Lois Lane but Martha is still held by Lex. Lex threatens Superman that he has to fight Batman in order to save Martha. Superman and Lois attempt to convince Batman to save Martha. Batman obliges. Then Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman fight Doomsday. Two are victorious, while one scarifies himself to save the day.

 

(And breath!)

 

I condensed the movie down considerably, but you get the gist. If you haven’t seen it yet, the epic fight is worth the price of admission.

 

The first night I saw the film I went with a group of friends. I have to admit the first time was better than the second because you didn’t know what to expect. On second viewing, this time with a few friends from the West Michigan Film and Video Alliance, I noticed that the dream sequences were a little long and so was the fight with Doomsday. Overall, I’d give it an A-.

 

Don’t forget that Captain America: Civic War is coming to theaters of May 6. Suicide Squad will premier on August 5. The superhero movies never stop coming.

 

“It may be the Gotham city and me… we just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns.”

 

Katie works in the film industry as a camera operator and has worked on films like ‘All You Can Dream’, ‘Set Up’ and a TV show called ‘American Fallen Soldier.’ She loves helping WKTV with the Citizen Journalism team and working as a tech at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Katie loves working in the film industry and loves watching movies just as much!