When I came to pick up my press pass at the Philadelphia Comic Con Friday before I headed over to The Troc, the con seemed a little slower than last year’s, which was to be expected with the current economic climate. But when I returned to the con Saturday it was a much different story altogether. Right from the start the con was bursting at the seams and teaming with cosplaying superheroes and villains alike, with the rumor of a 40% increase over last year’s attendance.

It was hard not to overhear various con goers comparing the lines to get inside and to get into panels to Dragoncon’s. There was a 2 block wait just to get in the door, and then you had to wait another hour or two if you simply didn’t pre-register. I got quite a few messages on Saturday during our TweetUp from people who couldn’t attend because they understandably had already invested 2 hours waiting in line and didn’t want to lose their spot.

Once inside the con, the Dealer’s room was the place to be for photo opts. There were some great costumes, and everyone was more than happy to get their hero-pose-on for a pic or two. While I have to admit the panel pickings, which mainly consisted of Q&A’s were slim; people didn’t seem to be there for panels. Judging by the schedule, the con almost seemed to have scaled back it’s programming this year, not expecting the crowds that arrived by the trainload Saturday for a day at the con.

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Tesla Fest. This exists, and it is happening.

Come July, the Tesla Science Foundation is putting on a weekend-long celebration in honor of the legendary inventor. From a special exhibit at the Independence Visitor Center to a surprisingly affordable reception dinner and concert ($20!) at the Arch Street Meeting House, there is a lot planned for this science party.

For more information on the festival, visit the Tesla Science Foundation’s official website. We can’t wait.

Tesla Fest [ www.teslasciencefoundation.org ]

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the Geekadelphia crew descends upon Omoi, an amazing boutique in Rittenhouse Square, and collectively swoons over Liz, the owner… I mean, we purchase lots of stuff from Liz, the owner. Yes. We buy things.

Omoi’s tent sale goes down this Saturday, June 19th, and I can’t wait. The guys and gals at Omoi set up a large tent in the backyard, and fill up several tables with discounted merchandise. From hip t-shirts, to vinyl toys, to designer stationary, this is a mecca for trendy geeksters, with all items priced at $5 to $20.

Curious about what they sell? Check out Omoi’s blog, to scope out a number of great wares. Liz loves writing about new things in the shop.

See you there!

Omoi’s Third Annual Tent Sale [ www.omoionline.com ]

Our good friends Matt, Gordon, and Chris are still hard at work with their Restore the Gulf movement. Chris’ been making a different down in New Orleans, volunteering his skills as a biologist to help local wildlife, while Matt and Gordon have been preparing for their second trip, gathering volunteers here in Philadelphia.

Their blog has since become fairly well read, receiving a couple hundred hits a day. Donations have started trickling in as the traffic grows… but as us bloggers here at Geekadelphia can tell you, decent web traffic doesn’t always equal lots of money. So we’re pitching in.

Stop by Tattooed Mom on South Street next Wednesday, June 23rd, for a special Restore the Gulf Party and Fundraiser. You can look forward to drink and food specials, as well as the opportunity to help make a difference.

Geekadelphia will have a donations box set up at the door, and we’ll be accepting items for Restore the Gulf’s ‘Urgent Needs’ page. From duct tape to dry erase boards, energy efficient light bulbs to childrens’ books, they need a lot of stuff. And you can help.

We’ll be raffling off a number of items from local institutions who have been kind enough to donate items. Tickets from the Academy of Natural Sciences, National Constitution Center, Eastern State Penitentiary, and even tickets to concerts at the Mann Center for Performing Arts (what!) will be up for grabs.

We’re also raffling off a $100 gift certificate to Brave New Worlds, our favorite comic book shop in Old City, and giving away a number of titles from our good friends Quirk Books. You’ll also have an opportunity to win a piece of fine art, a print from the lovely Britt Miller. Like music? Good, cause 8static is donating a pair of tickets, as well as a copy of Philly Chip: Volume 1 and an 8static t-shirt.

Entering the raffle is easy. Just donate a dollar or two (preferably three of four), or bring in something from Restore the Gulf’s Urgent Needs page.

Also, if you bring in an item from Restore the Gulf’s Urgent Needs page, you’ll receive a Tattooed Mom discount poker chip, good for 50 cents off any drink… forever.

Next Wednesday.

June 23rd, 7pm to 10pm.

Come help make a difference.

Restore The Gulf [ restoringthegulf.blogspot.com ]

Last Saturday The Trocadero theater in center city hosted Kaiju Big Battel, which was an official after party event for the Wizard World Philly 2010 convention. Truthfully, the awesomeness of Kaiju Big Battel is a bit difficult to describe with mere words, but I’m going to give it a try.

Remember all those incredibly bad Japanese monster movies from eons ago? You know, the ones where it is clearly a guy in a rubber monster suit stepping on little cardboard miniature cities? Okay, so take that and make it a live event, add a wrestling cage, throw in some music and clever scripted dialogue, and you have an inkling as to what witnessing Kaiju Big Battel is like.

As one of my good friends put it: “It makes no sense. I love it.”

More after the jump!

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Grey Skies, a new sci-fi horror flick set to premiere this month, is as much about alien invasion as it is about human relationships, according to producers.

A group of old college buddies reunite to reminisce about their glory days for a quiet weekend getaway in beautiful lakeside cabin. Despite typical drama and some sexy tension, all seems right … until distant flashes of light announce the arrival of mysterious creatures. One by one, people start disappearing. The group must band together to outwit the unknown or risk losing each other – and their lives.

Behind this low-budget indie project is a passionate group of actors, directors, writers and producers hoping to make a name for themselves. We spoke with writer and producer Mark Reilly, his wife Stacy Jorgensen and Michael Cornacchia (a Philly native) who both starred in and co-produced the film.

Cast and Crew Members from Grey Skies

This movie is quite a collaborative effort. How did you get started?

Michael Cornacchia: Mark, Stacy, and I are the producers,as well as the director Kai Blackwood. The director of photography Gavin Fisher is also a co-producer, as well as our post-production supervisor. So everybody’s wearing like, fifteen thousand hats with this production.

Stacy Jorgensen: I moved out to Los Angeles to be an actress and I was getting frustrated with the lack of auditions and roles. Since I married a writer, I told my husband if he wrote something for me, I would find the money. And so we did.

What’s the scariest part of the film?

SJ: For me, it’s one of the final scenes in the film. Without giving too much away, it’s when you see what really happens to these characters get taken. There’s about three to five minutes seeing exactly what they do to people and then re-release them into the wild, for lack of a better term. It’s almost what scientists do when they tag wild animals. I think the scariest thing is when you see what they do to Jenny.

Mark Reilly: We’re tapping in to some primal fears with noises in the dark and lights flashing. You hear these ghost stories about what goes bump in the night – but this time it’s aliens. The thing outside your window is actually something from another world, looking at you, studying you, taking you out of your home and experimenting on you. I like these idea of these aliens just … fucking with you – pardon my French.

Your co-producer and makeup artist, Barney Burman, won an Oscar this year for his makeup in Star Trek. What was it like working with him?

MC: Barney saw our breakdown for the roles we were casting and saw we were making a low budget alien-horror film, so he sent us an e-mail that simply said: “Need aliens?” He just said he doesn’t like watching low-budget horror flicks with bad makeup effects. He has been instrumental in making this thing come to life.

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One of the biggest highlights of Philadelphia Comic Con is always the great afterparties; and Troc as usual was the place to be for both nights. Friday night was their annual Zombie Beach Party, sponsored by the great folks over at the Philadelphia Zombie Crawl whom you might remember from out Zombieland Screening; and let me tell you, those guys know how to throw a party.

The night started out with DJs spinning some great horror themed music while the ghouls got their game faces on. While some seemed to come direct from the scene of accident, some choose to patronize one of the great zombie makeup stations; that were turning out some exceptional gore for the low price of $10 per person. In honor of the event The Troc was of course serving drinks for the occasion; in the form of a potent Zombie Punch, which tasted like Hawaiian Punch with one hell of a kick.

More review and pics after the jump!

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Last week I posted that 7th Dimension Games would be starting D&D Encounters events. Unfortunately it ended up being delayed by a week, but as of now it is back on for this Wednesday, June 16, 2010. It is currently scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but if this time is inconvenient, the store asks that people let them know so a better time can be arranged.

D&D Encounters is a new program from Wizards of the Coast which involves small group events that only last an hour or two. This allows for players to participate in missions without them taking up an entire afternoon. It is also ideal for those who don’t have a steady group to play with and are looking for a new weekly game.

In addition to starting up D&D Encounters, there is also talk of beginning a Firefly/Serenity role-playing game group. Interested parties should stop by the store or join 7th Dimension Games on Facebook and express their interest.

7th Dimension Games is located at 1128 Easton Road, just a short walk from the SEPTA R2 Roslyn train station. It is open Tuesday – Thursday from 12-9; Friday from 12-10, Saturday from 10-10, and Sunday from 12-6. The store is closed Mondays. Visit www.7thdimensiongames.com for more information about D&D Encounters and other upcoming events.

Hyperballoid HD is a new addition to the ball and paddle genre popularized by classics such as Breakout and Arkanoid. For the person who somehow managed to avoid this genre altogether (really?), the premise is simple. Controlling a paddle at the bottom of the screen, you redirect a ball which constantly ricochets around, damaging bricks, the goal simply to clear the screen.

Doing this with a single ball though… that would get old fast. Hyperballoid, like Arkanoid, arms you with a wide variety of power ups in order to get the job done. Some familiar power ups widen your paddle or triple the number of balls on the screen. Some new ones, like the Detonator Ball, plants a time bomb in any brick it touches. And there’s the Aim Ball, which allows you to control the ball directly.

There are an incredible amount of levels to play through and within each rests a unique pattern of both stationary and moving bricks. The graphics are very detailed and, as the name suggests, the game supports full 1080p. The gameplay itself is incredibly smooth from a technical standpoint, and the physics are on point, with extremely responsive controls. The gameplay mechanics on the other hand, let me down a little bit.

More after the jump!

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Philadelphia’s favorite group of happy hackers are joining the Fleisher Art Memorial for their annual community art fair, next Saturday, June 26th.

The entire block of Catherine Street between 7th and 8th will be shut down, all to make room for booths and tents with opportunities to make stuff. The Hacktory will be on the scene, dishing out parts for you to rip into pieces and put back together.

The art fair kicks off at 10am and runs until 4pm. For more information on the art fair, head over to the Fleisher Art Memorial’s official website.

Fleisher Art Memorial’s ARTspiration Fair [ PDF ]

Looking for lunch plans on Saturday between panels at Philadelphia Comic Con? Well, why not attend the first annual Geekadelphia Philadelphia Comic Con TweetUp at Chili’s (1239 Filbert Street) at 11:30am?

Take a break from the Con and spend some quality time with the Geekadelphia Crew comparing notes about the convention thus far. It’s a great chance to meet some of our newest writers, and to meet a few who just won’t go away.

For any questions feel free to either @danthefan or @geekadelphia on Twitter or send Dan an email (dan@geekadelphia.com). Hope to see you there!

Don’t forget, dear Geekadelphians, that Nullsleep, one of the best Chiptune artists around, is touring through Philadelphia promoting his newest album tomorrow night. He’s hitting Studio 34, with Philadelphia’s Magoni & Chaffel, and NYC’s Starscream opening. NO CARRIER will be producing his awesome 8-bit visuals all night long.

Head over to Nullsleep’s official website and download a couple tracks for free. You’ll thank me.

Studio 34. Tomorrow. Be there.

[ via 8static ]