MAY25—31, 2018 HH THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE’S WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

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ALISON COOK DINES AT CHRISSHEPHERD’S NEW UB PRESERV. 18

HERE COMES THE SPIDER-MAN

Marvel star TomHolland headlinesComicpalooza lineup,but he’s not alone | 8 D8 |PreviewHouston | May25-31,2018 |PreviewHouston.com

COMICPALOOZA GEEK PARADISE

BY ANDREWDANSBY

From itshumblebeginningsina COMICPALOOZA movie theater 11 years ago, Comic- When: 9a.m.-8 p.mFriday, 9 palooza quicklygrewlikeDavid a.m.-7p.m. Saturday, 9a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday Banner intothe IncredibleHulk. Where: George R. BrownConven- Theannual event nowdraws tion Center,1001Avenida de las tens of thousands of fans of Americas comics, art, TV,film and all man- Details: Adultday passes$38- ner of comic convention culture. $55 or three-daypassfor $78; children’s daypasses$10 or Since2010, the event hasset up three-daypassfor $15, shop at theGeorge R. Brown comicpalooza.com Convention Center,and even then, itsfootprint grew from one por- tion of the event space to the “StarTrek” enterpriseshave alot entirety of it. Trying to summarize of guests to choose from, in- all thatwill be happening thereis cluding LevarBurton (“StarTrek: pointless, as there’s simplytoo TheNextGeneration”), Jeri Ryan much. But hereare six big draws (“StarTrek: Voyager”) and also … to Comicpalooza 2018. 3. BRENT SPINER Spiner is the best-known 1. MARVEL STARS Houston nativeamong the guests We arenow adecadeinto FANS CANDRESS UP LIKE THEIR FAVORITE at this year’s event. Theactor, Marvel’s cinematic takeover, who playedLieutenant Com- starting with “Iron Man,” and mander Data on “StarTrek: The feweryears intothe company’s CHARACTERSDURING THE THREE-DAY EVENT. Next Generation,” grew up in invasion of television. Therehave Bellaireand studiedtheater at been some misfires along the the UniversityofHouston. He was way,but the storiedcomic brand Yi-Chin Lee/HoustonChronicle friends with Trey Wilson and hasdone apretty incrediblejob Randy Quaid,two other actors retaining buzz with itsproperties. guestdraws at Comicpalooza,are sequel is in development, tenta- guests come in clustersthatap- who grew up herearound the And theyremain apillar of comic starsof“Daredevil” and “Jessica tivelyscheduled for2019, with peal to fans with favoritefranchis- same time.After working in the- conventions due to theonslaught Jones,” respectively, and another, Holland back as PeterParker. es.Erik Estradaand Larry Wilcox ater in NewYork,Spiner struck of material: “Daredevil,” “Agents TomHolland,just hadafine year Which is all to sayMarvel’s sway from ’70s copshow“CHiPs” will gold as Data.Heappeared on the of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “JessicaJones” and in the Spider-Man suit with last shows no sign of waning. appear.Fivecastmembersfrom showfor 15 seasons starting in “Agent Carter” on the small summer’s charming “Spider-Man: TV’s “Lost” will be on hand: Mi- 1987.He’s been aregular in film screenand the various “Avengers” Homecoming” and the new 2. OTHER CULTURE chael Emerson, Henry Ian Cusick, and TV since, and hasalsomade CLIQUES piecesintheaters. Charlie Coxand smash “Avengers: InfinityWar.” A Francois Chau, M.C. Gaineyand some recordingsofold jazz stan- Alot of the event’s other KrystenRitter, twoofthe top “Spider-Man: Homecoming” Nestor Carbonell. Fans of various dards.

LTURE • P CU R • EV IE W W IE V • E C R PreviewHouston.com |May 25-31, 2018 |PreviewHouston|D9

4. RUTH E. CARTER Most of the top-draw talent at Comicpalooza areactorsfrom TV and film. Also drawing traffic arethe visual artists. Ruth E. Carter sort of fallsinbetween those twoworlds. Carter gother start in film 30 years agoasa costumer forSpikeLee on his first film, “School Daze.”Since then, she’s done costumesfor a number of his films, as well as period piecesranging from “Sel- ma” to “Amistad.” In fact,she’s the first African-American cos- tume designer to be nominated foranAcademyAward forher work on Lee’s 1992 film “Mal- colm X.” This yearhas been a particularlynoteworthyone for Carter,58. She wasthe costume designer forthe smash film “BlackPanther.” Her work took her to various places in Africa, where she found inspiration for the fictional Wakanda, which required various garmentsfor different tribestocreateamod- Netflix ern look from ages-olddesign Sony Pictures Entertainment Charlie Coxisconvincing as Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the motifs. She appearsatComic- TomHolland as Spider-Man. “Daredevil” Netflix series. palooza Sunday. reallyyour twowindows to suit 5. COMIC BOOKS up without raising eyebrows. And posters. And original piecesofart. And lightsabers. 7. PANELS And “DoctorWho” scarves.Like No point in listing them all, anyconvention worth itssalt, but thereshouldbesomething Comicpalooza hashundredsof foreverybody.Some of them are thousands of items to getbe- fairlyself-explanatory and tweenyou and your money. To shouldseemofgreatinterest: citeany singleitemwouldbe, to “Practical Armor Making,” paraphraseGarven Dreis, just “Women of the X-Men” and impacting on the surface. Just “Sympathyfor the Devil: Antago- about everybody shows up with nistsWeLovetoHate.”There are adifferent ideaofatreasure. manyNASA-centric panels, befitting our proximitytoJohn- 6. COSPLAY son SpaceCenter.But when Isaw aterrifying mother/ scanning the list of panels, al- daughter setofWeeping Angels ways be suretogobeyondthe from “DoctorWho,” and aNewt titleand readthe detailsbe- Scamander from “Fantastic cause “Hasselhoff AdultSchool Beasts”who didn’t breakchar- of Sword” is not at all whatI acter on the grounds, last year. If imaginedittobe. Westland Productions Courtesyphoto youhave aWookieecostume or Myles Aronowitz /Netflix Brent Spiner starred in “Star KrystenRitterplays the titular Costume designer Ruth E. Carter such, this and Halloween are [email protected] Trek: TheNextGeneration.” role in “Marvel’s JessicaJones.” worked on “BlackPanther.” D10 |PreviewHouston | May25-31,2018 |PreviewHouston.com

COMICPALOOZA AFANBOYATHEART

BY ANDREWDANSBY

Spikewasn’t supposedtobe- JAMESMARSTERSAT come athing. When JamesMar- COMICPALOOZA sterstookthe role on “Buffy the When: 5p.m. Fridayfor apanel, availablefor autographs Friday- VampireSlayer” in 1997,hewas Sunday told his character,avampire, Where: George R. Brown wouldpromptlybeslayed. But Convention Center,1001Avenidas then something happened. The de la Americas California nativetook on aBritish Details: $10-$109; accent, and his brownhair was comicpalooza.com crispedand brightenedwith per- oxide.And in addition to being fed the blood of victims, Spikewas Alot of young peoplewerestart- fedsome of the show’s best lines, ing to discoveritfor themselves. likeanearlyone thatinvolvedthe So at this point, even those new crucifixion, Woodstock and an fans arecoming at it at apretty acid trip.And so afan favoritewas high levelnow.Sometimesat …not born exactly,because vam- these conventions, thereare more pires aresired. fans than Ihave timetomeetina Marsters, 55, gothis start in day. Butthe interestisagood Chicagodoing theater before thing. “Buffy” wasagood,sub- landing some of his first TV roles JAMESMARSTERSPLAYED SPIKE ON versiveshowwhen it wasfirst on in the early’90s. His lifechanged the air.Watch it now: It’s still with “Buffy.” All the show’s key subversive, this showabout a charactersenjoyedlong, arcing “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.” woman who cankick assifshe evolutions, but Spike’s perhaps needsto. So Ilove meeting 12-, 13-, hasthe sharpest anglefromcon- 14-year-oldyoungwomendressed cept to conclusion. Post-“Buffy” TheWB as BuffyorFaith or Willow and he stuck with TV,doing some seeing thatthe showishelping episodesasSpikeon“Angel,” as such eventsmirrorsthatofthe Shatner wasranting about on selves, that’s agood find.And I moreyoungfemales to realize well as alongtenureon“Small- fans. “SaturdayNight Live.”Sobeing a find alot of those peoplehanging their power. ville.”He’s done morefilm and TV fanboy, Itend to thinkfans are around at aconvention. Imet someone going to acon- work —including his current run Q: I’veseen actorssigh and pretty cool. Ifind they’reintelligent vention once, an original member on Marvel’s Huluseries“Run- roll their eyes through conven- with agood sense of humor,and Q: “Buffy” turned 20 last of the “StarWars” cast, an old aways”—writtencomic books, tion appearances. Youseem to theydon’t take themselvestoo year.But Ifeel liketherewas a gent. And Iwas afan. But he said narrated audio booksand played genuinelyenjoythem. seriously. That’s acombination I fervor building afew years he didn’t like(“Buffy”). He didn’t in bands. A: (Laughs.) Well yeah, Iwas a likeverymuch. Youcan hang out earlier.Did youdetectare- believe agirl thatsizecouldhit This weekend,he’ll appear at fan, too. When Iwas 13 years old, I with intelligent people, but if newedinterestinthe show? thathardand defend herself. Itold all three days of Comicpalooza,an wasgoing to “StarTrek” conven- they’rearrogant, youdon’t enjoy A: Yeah, yeah, therehas been him, Sarah(MichelleGellar) was environment in which Marsters tions dressedasSpock. So Iguess their companyvery much. Asmart this growing interestin“Buffy,” I doing her ownstuntsand working thrives because his enthusiasm for Iwas one of the peopleWilliam person who canlaughatthem- think starting about fiveyears ago. with tripleblack beltstunt dou- PreviewHouston.com |May 25-31, 2018 |PreviewHouston|D11

bles everyday without breaking a bulaRasa” wasareallyfun epi- sweat. He said it wasn’t the sode.But Ithink my favorite same.But I’m telling you, she overall wasthe musical. We heldher own. Finally, Isaid,“How risked themost as actors. Most about BruceLee?That’s the of us weren’t singing profession- deadliest guyIcan think of.He allybeforethat. It’s one thing to waswhat? Fivefoot five?”That sing in the showerand think you wasthe end of the conversation sound good.It’s another to with this heroofmine.Hewas a charge moneyfor it. And to be niceguy,but there’s some gener- good enough to charge money ational thinking around those forit, youreallyhave to work. issues. But sorry,pound for And the actorsonthe showwere pound,Buffy is plentydeadly. clear: We’renot professional singers. We begged Joss not to Q: What do youthink has do this. Sarahactuallytoldhim helped it endure? Oneofmy she’d rather jugglechain saws. theories is despitethe hair and “Just firethem up,” she said.“If I clothes, which kind of ring a cutoff my hand,it’ll be better for ’90s bell, there’s this theme of my career than to sing.” But we enduranceinthe showthat’s stoppedwhining at some point relatabletojustabout anyone. and gottowork and did our best, A: Iagree,though Ithink, on a even though we were pretty sure slightlylarge level, the showis we were going to fail. We decid- about howdoyou makeitfrom ed to go out swinging, which is childhood to adulthood.How you TheWB whatthe characterson“Buffy” getthrough your adolescent Sarah MichelleGellar is Buffy Summersand James MarstersisSpikein“Buffy the VampireSlayer.” do all the time.And it didn’t years when youwakeuptothe suck! So whataplus! fact thatthe worldisnot perfect on themselves, and moreimpor- early. respect him forthat. So Spike at all. When youlearn parents tantly, theydon’t giveuponthe A: Joss (creatorWhedon) was wasthis two-dimensional evil Q: Other than meeting fans, aren’t all-knowing. Teachers world. clearinthe beginning thatIwas villain, but peoplewererespond- whatdoyou likemostabout don’t always understand the And that’s not just forteenag- not going to live. That Iwas An- ing to him.And Ithink Joss was these conventions? subject matter.Navigating the ers, if you’re35, 45,65, youhave gelfood,thathewas going to kill uncomfortablewith that. Maybe A: Just thatifany human in complexitiesand pain of the the same struggles.Sometimes me.SotheybuiltSpikeuptolook it wasendangering the theme of the citycomesthey’ll have a worldwithout giving up.Alot of it’s hardfor me to getout of bed cool so when Angel killed him his show. If I’d been Joss, Iworry fabulous time.And if youtakea peopledon’t makeitthrough. in the morning. Idon’t want to try off,Angel wouldlook cooler.I I’dhave killedoff Spikeimmedi- second to look around,you’ll They giveuporcome out the today. So Ithink we all do well to thought I’d be luckytoget five ately. ButJoss hasanincredible noticethere’ll be thousands of other side less than theycould hear thatmessage.The writing is episodesinthe first season. Igot mind,and he wasabletoweave peoplearound and no one is be.“Buffy” tellsyou not to give also charming and deft, and the 10.Then in Season 3, Igot one this journeyfor Spike. captivated by their cellphone.No up.That’s an incredibletheme. showisadelight to watch. I episode,which wasnicetoget. texting or worrying about Face- “Hamlet”has thattheme.He thought the same thing watching But it wasn’t going to go further Q: My kid Hazel, age 11,asks book. Just peopletalking and takesuparms and it createsa “Wonder Woman.” It’s not this than that. But whathappenedis if youhave afavoriteepisode. getting to know each other. seaoftrouble. It costshim his dark, strident judgment against theylostthe Cordelia character, A: Well first of all, tell Hazel, There’ll be peoplewith asword life, buthedoestry to makea men. It doesn’t put men down for and theyneeded acharacter “Hello, and that’s agreatques- in one hand and abeerinthe difference. “Catcher in the Rye” is women to be powerful. And it who wasabletotell Buffy she tion.” Ihave so many favorite other,and no one will gethurt. in the same period of life, and it’s wasacelebration of apowerful wasbeing stupid and we’reall episodes, but Ithink “The Body” No arguments. Just love.Ifyou ahorror show. Holden doesn’t woman thatwas delightful and about to die.Joss decidedtotry is one of my favorites because ever wanted to be Superman, makeitthrough adolescenceina fun. Iprefermygoodstories Spikeinthatrole. They found it’s strippedofall the humor and this is the place. Everyone there healthyway.There’s adark next wrappedupthatway. Anya,sotheydidn’t need Spike special effects.It’s reallyjust is beautiful, and it’s wherethey chapter to thatstory thatisn’t forthatrole. And Ithought, again, about adaughter losing her want to be doing whattheywant written. But “Buffy” shows a Q: Youdidn’t knowyour they’d kill me off. mom. It wasaproof of concept to do.Thatsounds likeheaven, morepositiveside of that. Peo- character wasgoing to span Spikeisarather strangefit in thatthe showhad strong enough doesn’t it? plenot giving up,eventhough it seasons, right?Wasn’t Spike the show. Joss isn’t interestedin characterstodothatand just be [email protected] hurtsthem. They don’t giveup supposed to getkilled off portraying evil as cool, and I astraight drama thathour.“Ta- D12|PreviewHouston | May25-31,2018 |PreviewHouston.com

COMICPALOOZA GOOD TIMES, BADTIMES WITH JIMMIE WALKER

Among the armor-clad super BY ANDREW DANSBY JIMMIE ‘J.J.’ WALKER heroesinthe ranksofComic- When: 8p.m. Friday, 7and 10 palooza this weekend arealso p.m. Saturday Where: JokeJoint Comedy totems of nostalgia and joke- Showcase, 11460Fuqua makerswho arejust trying to Details: $20-$25; jokejoint makealiving. That’s the realm of comedyshowcase.com; also Jimmie Walker,who remains appearing at Comicpalooza in best-known forplaying J.J. on the the George R. BrownConvention 1970s sitcom“Good Times” and Center this weekend delivering time and again the punchline “DY-NO-MITE,” even with peoplegoing afterTrump. though he’d been doing radio and Showmeone good piece of stand-up long before thatshow. pressabout Trump. Walker pre-“Good Times” wasa guylooking foralaughonstand- Q: Ican’t. up stages.HecomestoComic- A: Right. We’redivided, and palooza as adecades-spanning it can’t be fixed.We’re an comedian and aguy with an angry society basedonangry everlasting TV punchline. peoplewho aredividedon every level. Racially, gender, Q: So I’msureeverybody sexuality. starts with “Good Times” and ... Q: Youdoseem to enjoy A: They do.And thatTVshow thecomic convention envi- wasfine.But it wasamong the ronment, which is apretty leastthingsI’vedone.(Laughs.) It equalizing space. wasmaybe the 10th or 12th most WALKER IS KNOWN FOR“DY-NO-MITE” PUNCHLINE. A: Youknow, athing like important thing in my so-called Comicpalooza,it’s abig deal. career.But nobody talksabout And thereare peoplewho Courtesyphoto whereIstarted,which wascome- don’t showuponshows who dy.Orthe peoplewho gotstarted arestill abig deal to people. with me,likeLetterman. That’s good stand-up out there. I’m not have reachedanew chitlin circuit. Youwant me to tell youthat Erik and Larry from “CHiPs” whatIdid.That’s my thing. saying all stand-ups suck. But It’s not good.It’s not good for different comedy is all OK. No,my and David Faustino (from there’s something like3,500 comedy. book (“Dyn-O-Mite!,” 2012)is “Married…With Children”). His Q: Peopleassociate youwith stand-ups. And maybe 2,500 of about the American divide.And showisstill huge in syndica- one showand one line.But them aregood.But 10-15get Q: But that’s whyyou do comedy is the leader of it. Yousee tion. Peoplelove those people. don’t youdoabout 250 stand- work. There’s aton of comedy comedy.Itbecomes hopeful. it today. Yousaw it with Michelle That’s something. up shows per year? availabletopeople. But we only Youmakeabad thing better. Wolf (atthe WhiteHouse Corre- A: Yes, and there’s alot of hear some of it. Blackcomics A: No,it’s hopeless. (Laughs.) spondents’ Dinner). Yousee it [email protected]