On the Patapsco River near where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay is the city Baltimore.  This year, we nerds will be begging and bribing our loved ones, friends, and acquaintances to travel to Charm City for this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con (BCC). Staged out of the Baltimore Convention Center, which is conveniently nestled between Orioles Park and the Inner Harbor, the chances are good that fun abounds all around the convention.  This will be the 19^th year and starting the Thursday before, the organizers will be racing to get the convention center ready. 

Last year, the comic book guests included comic icon Frank Miller, along with convention regulars Louise and Walt Simonson, Neal Adams, Tom King, Brian Stelfreeze, and Ken Lashley. Frank Miller returns this year and comic stars Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Jenny Frison are in the house this year as well.  With all this kind of talent at the convention every year, another aspect of the BCC is a featured up and coming writer/artist.  Last year it was Jamar Nicholas, and this year the organizers revealed that the artist featured on our program guide and T-shirt is Sean Chen. Sean’s a long-time friend of the show, and we’re happy to have his fantastic artwork represent the Baltimore Comic-Con this year.” As with most conventions, the focus is not solely on comic books.  The BCC has a great focus on children’s activities all convention long, although Sunday is the best day activity-wise.  The kiddie cosplay is simply adorable.  For non-comic geeks, there is also a myriad of media guests.  This year includes Mike Colter, Wil Wheaton, Katrina Law, Tricia Helfer, and Zachary Levi.

Another feature unique to the con is the Yearbook.  With the Convention Yearbook, you can spend an entire afternoon wandering the Artist’s Alley meeting independent talent from all over.  BGN asked the organizers about the theme of the Yearbook this year and why should someone consider purchasing one.   

2018 Yearbook theme is Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise, which actually includes all of Terry’s properties, including Motor Girl, Echo, and Rachel Rising. We have a vast array of contributors this year (actually a few more than last year!) drawing Terry’s characters, sometimes with their creator-owned characters and sometimes by themselves, and they are varied, beautiful, and occasionally hilarious! Every year, we feature a scavenger hunt where guests go and get a number of signatures in their yearbooks and can then choose from a number of bonus art prints in the theme of the Yearbook that are not in the book. Our attendees love it!

Recent unrest on the convention circuit may discourage some from attending.  BGN questioned the organizers regarding their efforts to manage any disruptions.  The organizers indicated that they’re “learning and improving all the time.”  And that “the show will continue to grow and evolve to ensure everyone has a spectacular and safe time at our event!”  So, while San Diego and New York vie for the largest convention bragging rights, the BCC consistently works every year to simply be the best.  From the great location, unique convention activities, as well as the comic and media guests, this is one convention where everything seems to focus on the experience of the attendees.  As such it seems like this will be another banner year for a fun time to be had by all.  The convention starts at 1:00 pm on Friday, September 28, 2018, and we here at BGN look forward to seeing you and yours in the gleefully short line!

The post Getting Ready for the Baltimore Comic-Con! appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

Saturday Night Live has added another black woman to the cast to stand alongside Leslie Jones. According to CNN, actress Ego Nwodim will be making her debut on the 44th season.

Now I know you’re wondering, this is great …

Earlier this year, MGM announced that they would resurrect Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise next, but the only thing is that the franchise is still alive and kicking! The writer of the classic ’80s horror, Don Mancini, and the voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif, have steadily kept making some of the funniest, scariest, and most enjoyable frighteners, with the most recent one released only last year. Now that we’ve seen the first look at the new iteration of the doll which holds the soul of Charles Lee Ray (or does it, any more?), we decided to look back at the classic series and (struggle because they are all great) rank them for your perusing pleasure.

7. Cult of Chucky (2017)

The newest and arguably weakest Chucky film follows directly after the brilliant and legitimately very scary Curse of Chucky. The seventh entry in the franchise is entertaining enough and does offer some seriously good scares, but the reliance on some majorly outdated mental health representation and a bland setting means that it comes at the tail end of our list. However, the multiple Chuckies and ridiculous ending are pretty great.

6. Seed of Chucky (2004)

One of the joys of the Child’s Play franchise is the incredible practical effects that Mancini and co. utilize to bring Chucky–and in this case his family–to life and Seed of Chucky delivers on that front. If anything, this entry leans heavily into the humor that makes these films so great, as Chucky and Tiffany’s son Gentle Glen heads to Hollywood to resurrect his parents when he finds out that a movie is being made about them. It’s a masterclass in silly meta horror that’s only let down by a lack of proper scares.

5. Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Rushed out after the success of Child’s Play 2, this threequel was released an unbelievable nine months after its predecessor, and although it’s a lot of fun you can definitely tell ’twas hurried. It once again follows poor old Andy Barclay–this time played by Justin Whalin–as he tries to convince the world that Charles Lee Ray has returned. A fun third act in a haunted house makes this one worth a watch even if it’s a little rough around the edges.

4. Bride of Chucky (1998)

Ronny Yu was on a roll in the late ’90s and early ’00s, as he helmed some of the biggest horror franchises including this fantastically funny addition to Chucky canon. Starring Dourif, alongside new addition Jennifer Tilly as Chucky’s love interest, this is easily one of the best Chucky films as the pair wreak havoc trying to retrieve a magical jewel buried alongside Charles Lee Ray. This is where the franchise really got its rep as a horror comedy goldmine.

3. Curse of Chucky (2013)

After a nine year absence, Chucky returned in this frightening film that starred Brad Dourif’s daughter Fiona as Chucky’s newest victim. Reverting back to the more streamlined possession horror of the original film, this strong sixth entry revived the franchise and introduced a whole new generation to the terrifying doll and his maniacal ways. The film also ends with a cameo from original Child’s Play star Alex Vincent, who would go on to star in 2017’s Cult of Chucky.

2. Child’s Play 2 (1990)

The writer of the first film, Don Mancini, returned for this–and every other–sequel which followed little Andy from Child’s Play as he deals with the fact that no one believes his outrageous true story of the killer doll who ruined his life. The first of the films to sow the seeds of the campy horror humor that the series would become known for, Child’s Play 2 is a whole bunch of fun, still managing to straddle the line between gore and giggles.

1. Child’s Play (1988)

The original and the best. Tom Holland’s astoundingly creepy, strangely magical, and wonderfully unique ’80s slasher can’t be topped. It was the film that launched a franchise so strong it’s still going 30 years later. All little Andy Barclay wants is a Good Guy doll, but when his mom buys him one down a dark alley they both get more than they bargained for as the doll is imbued with the soul of a serial killer. Incredible casting, witty writing, and bleak humor make this a stone cold cult classic.

What’s your favorite Chucky film? Can’t wait to see the new version of the little doll who could (kill)? Be a good boy and let us know below!

Images: MGM-UA, Paramount,Rogue, Universal, Netflix

20th Century Fox has officially confirmed, according to IGN, that a third Kingsman film is on its way and is currently planned for a November 8, 2019 release date, with Matthew Vaughn back on board to both write and direct. Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle was not as adored as its predecessor, but it still did very well at the box office, and with the star power of rising star Taron Egerton and forever bae Colin Firth, it is no surprise that Fox wants to pump out another film as soon as possible before one of them gets attached to an MCU movie or something like that.

(via Collider, image: 20th Century Fox)

• • Crazy Rich Asians stars talk about there experiences of racism and otherness in society. It’s a really powerful video and one that makes the opening scene of CRA, where Michelle Yeoh’s Eleanor schools a racist, even more powerful. “Where are you from? No where are you really from?” Ugh.
  • Shameless has gone through a lot of characters throughout its now nine seasons, now it’s time to look at the ones who have added to the show and those who made the show just too clustered. (via Screenrant)
  • Robert Macfarlane, Frances Hardinge, and Harry Potter cartographer Miraphora Mina talk about their favorite fantasy maps. (via The Guardian)
  • BoJack Horseman creator has no f*cks to give about calling out trash men and his fellow pretentious male creators. (via Salon)
  • We made a fuss about the sexy The Handmaid’s Tale costumes, rightfully so, but can we also take that same energy into getting rid of all of the racist and sexist Halloween costumes we have to see every damn year? (via Twitter/lo_lifer)

Now that you’ve gotten the costume based on a fictional dystopia removed, can y’all muster up enough backlash to do something about the site’s entire “Indian Costumes” section? pic.twitter.com/qVpTWBFiRU

— (@lo_lifer) September 21, 2018

What are you catching up on this Saturday? For me it’s Killjoys.

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