Crickey, I'm tired! My life has been an endless circle of work, taxes, work, taxes, and more work. That and taxes. >:( (Since when did I become everyone's go-to person for tax forms & information, dammit.)

Anyway, NYCC is coming and I HIGHLY recommend that you check out the site. If you are in the northeast, try to get here, because the sheer volume of things to do is mind-boggling!! Not to mention

• Show exclusives,
• Swag,
• Previews,
• Premieres,
• Panels,
• Gaming, and
• Celebs from movies, tv, and comic books.

Have you done your taxes yet? No?

Kill two birds with one ball...

For the third year in a row, the New York Mets will partner with the personal tax team of Gilman Ciocia, Inc. to offer free tax preparation and filing to Mets fans attending games on April 12, 13 and 15 at Shea Stadium.

Professional accountants from Gilman Ciocia will be at the Mets Team Store located behind home plate on the Field Level throughout the game to lend this complimentary tax preparation service for last-minute filers. The service that includes filing extensions is free to all Mets fans that have purchased tickets to any of the following games. Tickets start at $5 for select games.

Saturday, April 12
vs. Milwaukee
1:10 pm

Sunday, April 13
vs. Milwaukee
1:10 pm

Tuesday, April 15
vs. Washington
7:10 pm

While attendees enjoy the game, tax experts of Gilman Ciocia will not only prepare an individual's taxes, they will also review their last three years' returns for free. The savings realized per individual is between $111.00 and $226.00 according to a 2006 survey of professional accountants by The National Society of Accountants.

"As corporate sponsors of the New York Mets and great fans of the team, we are excited to again offer our fellow fans the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of the Gilman Ciocia tax team," said Michael Ryan, president and CEO, Gilman Ciocia. "We encourage Mets fans to stop by the Gilman Ciocia table to get their taxes done for free."

Presented by Anchor Bay, the Brutal Massacre panel was one of the highlights of MMX. A mocumentary/horror movie biz satire, Brutal Massacre stars David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), Brian O’Halloran (Clerks, Clerks II), Gerry Bednob (40 Year Old Virgin), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects), Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead, Satan’s Playground) and Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

The movie follows Harry Penderecki, a B- (C? D?) Movie director, making a horror movie that may just be his last chance. The trailer was hysterical, with many nods to the more realistic aspects of the genre: crazy characters (on & off screen), insane premises (Sasquatch at the Mall? Inspired by Abbey Road?), idiot reporters, moronic fans, and more.

The panel included Director Stevan Mena, producer Tom Bambard, Brian O’Halloran, Gunnar Hansen, Gerry Bednob, and Michelle “MJ” DiBenedetti. After details about the movie’s release (see below), we learned that what was supposed to be a simple, if slightly cold shoot, turned into the coldest weather in 50 years, with below 0° temperatures at noon.

Surprisingly funny, both in the trailer and in person, was Gunnar Hansen, best known for his work as Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Cast in a role not usual for the horror icon, Gunnar plays Crenshaw, the owner (?) of the location set. Gunnar embraced the role, “Great Character to play,” even playing with the seriousness of the mocumentary-style by saying he “spent a lot of time researching this.” He goes on to say he “…thought it was a fun character for me to do…Problem I had with Crenshaw is that he says fuck in every 3rd sentence.” (Truly, Crenshaw really loves this word.)

Asked how much of the movie was scripted & how much was improvised, Mena, director of Long Island International Film Expo and NYC Horror Film Festival Best Feature winner, Malevolence, said it was about 70% scripted/30% improvised. It was ‘wind em up and let em go with these guys.’

Brutal Massacre will open mid-summer with exclusive, then limited theatrical release. The subsequent dvd will have cut scenes and more, but as for Easter eggs? "We'll tell you there's Easter Eggs, but there's not," said Gunnar.

Be sure to check out the trailer, as well as their MySpace page. If you are in the Los Angeles area, you can see the stars and trailer in person at Fangoria Weekend of Horrors.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Fri., Sat. & Sun. April 25-27, 2008
LA Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Join Fangoria for the “Brutal Massacre” PANEL
Director Stevan Mena, stars David (AMERICAN WEREWOLF) Naughton, Brian (Clerks, Clerks II) O'Halloran, Ken (Dawn of the Dead) Foree, Gerry (40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN) Bednob and all three ladies of the EVIL DEAD:
Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly and Betsy Baker.
See http://www.fangoria.com/special_events.php For more information.

Marist College will sponsor a twelve-hour computer gaming marathon to benefit the charity Child's Play on Saturday, April 19, in the James J. McCann Recreation Center on the Marist campus.

"Gaming for Hope" is the largest console and computer gaming event in the Hudson River Valley. The idea for the marathon stemmed from an game competition conducted annually by two Marist student organizations, the Computer Society and the Anime Society. This is the fifth year of the annual event, which has grown consecutively larger since 2004.

Along with students, the general public is invited to participate in Gaming for Hope. Doors open at 1 p.m. and play will continue until 1 a.m. The event is open to all ages; those 15 years and younger must be accompanied by a parent. A valid ID is required.

While admission to Gaming for Hope is free, donations to Child's Play are accepted. Child's Play is a charity that purchases toys and games for residents of children's hospitals around the world.

Participants may bring their own computer equipment and are networked to other players through switches provided by Cisco Systems. Console game systems are donated by members of the Anime Society and Computer Society and are available for free play.

Among the console games and tournaments to be played will be Halo 3, Dead or Alive 4, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Naruto 3, Super Smash Bros., Capcon vs. SNK 2, Soul Calibur 3, Guitar Hero 3, DDR. Table top games will include Magic: The Gathering, Chess, and more.

Some of the sponsors and prize providers include the Dragon's Den, ThinkGeek.com, Gertrude Hawke Chocolates, Alienware, and Target. Prizes will be awarded for the winners of the major game tournaments held throughout the day. Prizes include a PS3, iPod touch, and LCD monitor.

For more information, visit the event's Web site at www.gamingforhope.com. All tournament and equipment registration will take place at the event.

WOW! What an amazing weekend!

I have so much stuff; it will take me the rest of the week to tell you about it all. I have Q&A recaps, announcements, vendor information, a movie review from the con, reviews of stuff I got AT the con, and more!

But since I also have a day job (dammitdammitdammitseriouslydammit), I will have to weed through the mass slower than I'd like.

In the meantime, I can regale you with a quick, personal recap. So, here's how my weekend went down and what you can look forward to in the coming days:

Friday

• Miss the Ben Chapman tribute. V. upset, as the man was a wonderful, genuine person who was very proud of the work he did.

• Arrive about 7:00 p.m. No small feat since I had no idea whether or not I was going to be leaving Friday until about 1 hour before our actual departure.

• Settle in, buy ticket, and take pictures for my broham as he gets his autographs. Unlike other conventions, I actually didn't buy ANY AUTOGRAPHS!!! Very unlike me.

• Meet some great people!
  

• Stroll the vendors checking out the wares. Score a bitchin' Army of Darkness lunchbox, with thermos, for the exclusive Dirty Santa "Boardie" party held on Saturday.

• Watch the world premiere of Chronicles of an Exorcism.*

• Up early. Uber-excited. Hair totally cooperates. Still have money left. Annoying my roommates with my alarm? Icing. :)

• Eat, finish getting autographs, gab with some peeps, mill about. (Giving too much detail here, but what the hey.)

• Brutal Massacre panel with Brian O'Halloran, Director Stevan Mena, Producer Tom Bambard, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), reps from Anchor Bay, and M.J. DiBenedetti.*

• Women of Horror panel. Wouldn't you know I freaking missed half of this and then my recorder went on the fritz! Yes, if you were getting really pissed at someone who kept beeping, that was me trying to fix the damned thing. Sorry!*

• Fight my way through massive crowds to the Out of the Cabin panel with Bruce-who-needs-no-introduction-in-my-book-Campbell.*

• Got a Jay? panel, which turns out to be a Where's Jay? panel with 80s music videos which turns into a Brian O' Saves the Day panel about him and his other new movie Cluster.*

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reunion panel.*
  

• Impromptu Dave Hagan panel due to the lateness of Mr. Feldman. Dave is the organizer of Monster Mania. A.K.A. Da MAN!*

• Lost Boy Found Q&A with Corey Feldman.*

• Change clothes for Dirty Santa.

• Meet brother for a drink in bar.

• Buy Brian O'Halloran a drink. Brother claims drink is from him (dirty rat), but still get to talk to the amazingly easy to talk to Brian O. TOTALLY crushing. Which I hope he didn't notice. Or maybe I do. Heehee.**

• Meet some fabulous people!
  

• Miss Dirty Santa I'm having so much fun. Now own lunchbox. Co-workers simply WON'T understand.
  

• Catch up with some elusive people in elevator. Get invited to their room for party. Head to my room to freshen up. Promptly forget their hotel room # after stepping off elevator.

• Leisurely brunch of mozzarella sticks. My stomach pays dearly for these weekends of fast & mainly fried foods. Dearly.

• Get some great advice from Scott at FearWerks.

• Spend the day trying to find - at various times, sometimes desperately, but never at the RIGHT time - Dave for questions, Stacey for an interview, my cousin Niki to thank her for offering me a ride (truth be told, I rudely invited myself along when I lost my ride. Either way, I am eternally grateful for her acquiescence), and, as always, my brother. He's mighty elusive at times.

• Get yelled at cause I completely blow by someone in my quest for the above. Make amends.

• Win DVD from FearsMag.com. Splee!
  

• Sadly leave.

It was a nightmare getting here, but I have arrived at Monster Mania X safe and sound!

In the coming days, I will be updating you all on the status of events here including the stars, sights, and news, as well as a review of Chronicles of an Exorcism, a movie written and directed by Nick G. Miller and starring Days of Our Lives star, Matthew Ashford.

In fact, the premiere is about 20 minutes from now, and I haven't eaten all day! Too excited. So I'm signing off for now to grab some grub, and will update you later tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday with more.

The 10th Monster Mania convention, a.k.a. Monster Mania X, is set to begin on March 14th with guests galore!

This year's Monster Mania convention circuit begins strong with the legendary Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Burn Notice) headlining the guest list. Other fantastic guests include:

• JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist, Dexter)
• Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th)
• Malcolm McDowell (Rob Zombie's Halloween, A Clockwork Orange, Heroes)
• Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street)
• Zach Galligan (Gremlins, Waxworks)
• Keith David (They Live, The Thing)
• William Ragsdale (Fright Night, The Reaping)
• Jason Mewes (The Tripper, Scream 3)
• & More!

New York Comic Con (NYCC) has announced another Guest of Honor for the show which will be taking place at the Jacob K. Javits Center, April 18 – 20, 2008.

British comic book artist Bryan Hitch, the co-creator and artist of WildStorm’s The Authority, and famous for his work on Marvel’s The Ultimates, will be joining previously announced guests Mike Mignola and Alex Ross for a Guest of Honor appearance at the show. Convention organizers have also announced several additions to the show’s roster of Featured Guests.

“The list of guests who will appear at New York Comic Con is growing day by day,” notes Lance Fensterman, the Event Director for New York Comic Con. “I’m ecstatic that Bryan Hitch has agreed to come to our show, and I couldn’t be happier with all the other talent that has come on board already. Stay tuned! We will be making lots more announcements about other guest appearances over the next couple months.”

In addition to his work on The Authority and The Ultimates, Bryan Hitch’s artistic talents are evident in JLA, The Sensational She-Hulk, X-Men, Superman and Stormwatch. For Marvel UK, he contributed to Action Force, Doctor Who, Mys-Tech Wars and Death’s Head. Hitch was also a character design artist for Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2 animated films, as well as character design artist for the video game Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. In 2008, Hitch will reunite with Mark Millar, with whom he worked closely on The Ultimates, to take over the new run of Fantastic Four for Marvel.

As for the Featured Guests who have been added to the schedule, Fensterman adds “New York Comic Con’s 2008 guests will span the history of comics, featuring some of the best in the business from the Silver and Golden legends to independent up and comers.” To help develop the artist program, NYCC is working closely with Spencer Beck of The Artist’s Choice, who has joined the show as Artist Coordinator to insure a quality program.

Some of the notable recent Featured Guest announcements include:

Chris Batista
Chris is a comic book artist and penciller whose work includes Steel, Spider-Man 2099, Spaceknights, Thunderbolts Vol. 1, The Legion, JLA as well as several issues of DC Comics’ weekly comic book epic 52.

Olivier Coipel
Olivier Coipel came to prominence as the artist of Legion of Super-Heroes and he continued to draw the series when it was re-launched under the new title The Legion. He is currently working as the artist on the new Thor series with writer J. Michael Straczynski.

Steve Epting
With a career stretching back to First Comics, Steve Epting made his name with Marvel fans everywhere with an eminent fifty-issue run drawing Avengers in the mid '90s. Steve is currently back with Marvel where he has embarked on his first collaboration with writer Ed Brubaker, in what is shaping up to be one of the all-time great Captain America runs in the character's history.

David Finch
David is a Canadian-born comic book artist who got his start working for Top Cow Productions and has enjoyed a successful career collaborating with some of the industry’s top talent including Matt “Batt” Banning, David Wohl, and Brian Michael Bendis. He is currently working with writer Joseph Loeb on Ultimatum for the Ultimate Marvel Line.

Rob Liefeld
Self-taught artist Liefeld became prominent due to his work on Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and later X-Force. In 1992, he and several other popular Marvel illustrators left the company to found Image Comics, which rode the wave of comic books owned by their creators rather than by publishers.

Ivan Reis
Ivan Reis is a Brazilian comic book artist who began his international career for Dark Horse working on titles such as Ghost. Through the years he has worked on many notable projects, both for DC and for Marvel. He is now working exclusively for DC where he is currently penciling Green Lantern, Vol. 4 and Sinestro Corps War together with Geoff Johns.

Walt Simonson
Best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles in the 1980s and 1990s such as The Mighty Thor and X-Factor, Walt Simonson has maintained a high profile in the industry, spanning many years, and including major works right up to the present. He is the recipient of numerous Shazam Awards.

Jim Steranko
Jim Steranko is an illustrator, musician, art director, magician, photographer, fire-eater, designer, escape artist, filmmaker, pop-culture lecturer, and publisher, who has cut a ferocious path through the entertainment arts. Steranko has worked with film directors Lucas, Spielberg and Coppola and was cited by Michael Chabon as an inspiration for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. He has also been cited by Wizard as one of the Top Five Most Influential Comicbook Artists of All Time.

Ethan Van Sciver
Ethan is an American comic book artist and penciller, currently doing interior art for the DC Comics title Green Lantern. Other comic book titles he has contributed to include Cyberfrog, Bog Swamp Demon, New X-Men, The Flash: Iron Heights, Impulse, and Batman.

Other notable Featured Guest appearances at NYCC which have already been announced include: Neal Adams, Kyle Baker, Mark Buckingham, Amanda Conner, Dale Eaglesham, Ron Garney, Dean Haspiel, Robert Napton, Steve McNiven, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Paola Rivera.