Volume 1 , Issue 4 ; June / July 2013

Fan Conventions · Pop Culture · Books · Comics · Cosplay · Indie · Gaming · Science

It ’ s no secret that in a little over a decade , Phoenix ComiCon has grown from a small gathering of a few hundred fans to not only the biggest event of its kind in Arizona , but to one of the biggest pop culture events in the southwest . Thanks to a combination of astute management , excellent organization , and strong , varied programming . PCC- -which topped 55,000 this year--is on track to be second only to San Diego ComiCon within a few short years .

Following last year ’ s reunion of most of the Star Trek : The Next Generation cast , PCC ’ s organizers this year set their sights on reuniting the cast of another iconic show : Babylon 5 , celebrating its 20th anniversary this year . Amazingly , no other conventions , in this region or any other , were planning such an event--quite surprising , given the show ’ s popularity and long-term influence .

The seed of the reunion was laid in summer 2012 , when John Edwards , owner of the Arizona Pop Culture Experience museum & comic book store at Desert Ridge Mall , took a trip to San Diego ComiCon . Edwards , a major B5 fan , knew most of the cast and had worked with many of them in the late 90s , when his record label , Renaissance , released a CD entitled , “ The Be Five ”, featuring songs written by Babylon 5 actor Bill Mumy ( Lennier ) and sung by Mumy and fellow stars Claudia Christian ( Commander

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Photo Credit Jerome Indie Film Festival

By Hal C F Astell

The Jerome Indie Film & Music Festival , which opens this month for its debut year , is probably the coolest sounding film festival ever conjured up , courtesy of founder Toni Michele Ross . She first saw Jerome when she was six and it was ‘ the world ’ s largest ghost town ’. She fell immediately in love with it , describing Phoenix as her hometown but Jerome her heart-town . No wonder that when she decided to run a festival , Jerome was the location she chose .

It ’ s about as far from the bright lights of Hollywood as could be imagined and there are no bustling multiplexes to be found . The town is located halfway between Prescott and Sedona , but that doesn ’ t quite hint at its charm . A better description would be to say that it ’ s almost a mile up in Arizona ’ s Black Hills , surrounded by the Prescott National Forest . Even just looking at pictures , it ’ s hard to imagine a more memorable location for a festival , and everyone

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The May double bill of The Goonies and The Monster Squad , hosted by local artist , Victor Moreno , at Tempe Pollack Cinema under his Cult Classics banner , sold out a 400 seat theatre . This is a monthly event and , for some months , the line to get in has wrapped all the way around the theatre ’ s impressive foyer to end up where it started , like the Ouroborous worm eating its own tail . It ’ s a sight to see .

To bring this many people into a cinema to see a couple of thirty-year old movies is an unprecedented achievement in a town where it often feels like an impossible task to get anyone out to watch anything . To do it every month is astounding . Yet Moreno is still building his audience after he debuted with Army of Darkness at the Royale in Mesa in 2011 . That show sold out too but , because of the size of the venue , each of its two screenings could only seat 60 people .

July ’ s show will be the second anniversary of Cult Classics and to celebrate , Moreno will be revisiting perhaps his most successful event , screening Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles during a pizza party . In between , he ’ ll be showing The Princess Bride on June 22nd , and he ’ s been having a blast putting up Fezzik flyers around town to advertise the event . These flyers proved so successful that people actually stopped Moreno to ask if they could buy copies .

I caught up with Moreno to talk about Cult Classics and its growing audience and reputation , and he explained that its success is due to this level of engagement . He doesn ’ t just show movies , he hosts events which are merely centred around movies .

I recognize this concept from personal experience . I once enthusiastically let a co-worker know about a triple bill of Star Trek movies screening at Chandler Cinemas , but he wasn ’ t interested . He had them all on DVD and was happy to watch them on his big screen

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Babylon 5 at PCC - All Photo Credit Jan Anderson

by Hal C F Astell

Photo Credit Cult Classics

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