C.C. Banana Returns to New York Comic Con!
Over the weekend of February 23-25, C.C. Banana returned to wreak more havoc at the second annual New York Comic Con. This year's event was twice as large as its predecessor and played host to some 40,000 attendees! With presentations and personalities from all the major comic book, video game and movie studios, the atmosphere was ripe for the Banana to work his yellow magic. You may recall that C.C. made quite a splash last year at the inaugural New York Comic Con, scoring interviews with such high-profile personage as Joe Quesada, Phil Jimenez and Jason Mewes (as reported by Pop Culture Shock). What banana shenanigans did C.C. have planned for this year? What new interviews did he acquire? For that matter, who had the good sense to interview him? Find out in the following fantastic foray into four-color adventure!
For his return to the New York Comic Con, C.C. chose to spruce up his banana skin with some all-new new decor! Whereas last year he had adorned himself with traditional superheroic trappings, this time he decided to pimp out his peel to resemble current Marvel movie sensation, Ghost Rider!
For those of you unfamiliar with Ghost Rider, he is the fiery Spirit of Vengeance who comes to life whenever innocent blood is spilled, intent on punishing the perpetrators! Here, C.C. Banana prepares to take out his fury upon those who would puree his helpless brethren into fresh fruit smoothies for consumption by the masses.
Naturally, it isn't long before a giant flaming banana begins to attract its fair share of media attention. Camera crews descend upon C.C. Banana like moths to a flame, including this one from the Independent Film Channel. The IFC producer has recognized C.C. from his many previous adventures and proceeds to inform him that she had once attempted to secure his services for a show on VH1! Flattered by the revelation, C.C. grants the desired interview then proceeds to hit on each of the women in the crew.
C.C. Banana is also interviewed by the lithe and limber Julie Alexandria for Heavy.com. Is Julie up to the challenge of facing off against the fiery fruit? Click on the image above to watch the Heavy News coverage of the New York Comic Con, including their encounter with C.C. Banana!
C.C. is even featured on MTV News! Here the Banana encounters his old classmate Eli Roth, who has since become quite the young Hollywood hotshot. Believe it or not, C.C. was once a teaching assistant at NYU... and Eli was his student! Go figure, eh? Since then Eli has gone on to direct such horrific hits as Cabin Fever, Hostel and its sequel, which he is busy promoting at the New York Comic Con.
This chance encounter is literally the first time these two have seen one another in over 15 years, prompting Eli to confess on camera that it was in fact C.C. Banana who taught him everything he knows about filmmaking! Naturally, that particular nugget ends up on the cutting room floor but the Banana nevertheless features into the above news clip chronicling Eli's activities at the con. Click on either image above to watch the coverage in its entirety.
Another college chum that C.C. Banana has the pleasure of bumping into is the fearless Frank Cap! Back in their dormitory days, C.C. and Frank once collaborated on a documentary about their campus food service. Imagine that -- C.C. began his career making a film about food... and today he is food! What are the odds? As for Frank, these days he runs the Pop Life Re-Cap website and podcast, dedicated to pop culture in all its many incarnations. C.C. Banana has been meaning to contribute something to the site for ages, so hopefully he will come up with something worthwhile today at the convention...
Another familiar face at the New York Comic Con is Sam Girdich from Strongarm Labs. Along with his partner Mark Gonyea, the pair produces a unique line of graphic novels and pop art prints! C.C. Banana first met the Strongarm lads at last year's event and is indeed happy to see them again, especially since they are kind enough to give him copies of their latest publications! Naturally, the trick will be in getting the frenetic fruit to sit still long enough to actually read them...
Also on hand is artist extraordinaire Jeff Chandler of Art Gecko Studios! C.C. had met Jeff while making the rounds of Star Wars Celebration III in 2005, at which point Jeff became a bona fide Banana fan! Here he is sporting the original C.C. Banana T-shirt, which has since sold out and become something of a collector's item. C.C. recently commissioned Jeff to create an all-new piece of Banana artwork for an upcoming project, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled...
C.C. Banana next crosses paths with John Williams from The Topps Company! John and the Banana go all the way back to Star Wars Celebration II in 2002 but it looks like the pair might finally have found a project on which to work together. And before you ask, this is not the same John Williams who composes scores for motion pictures, so no wisecracks about them making beautiful music together...
C.C. Banana pays a visit to his friends at Midtown Comics (despite the fact that he sees them every week during his regular comic book pilgrimage). As they had last year, Midtown boasts a large presence at the New York Comic Con, including an impressive array of special guests and signings. Here, C.C. interrupts a private moment between Midtown staffer David and "It's Superman!" author Tom De Haven. Would you believe they actually held up the line for this?
By the way, for those of you complaining that C.C. Banana's Ghost Rider outfit does not resemble its comic book counterpart... feast your eyes on the above. Here the Banana holds up a marvelous miniaturization of Ghost Rider as he appeared throughout his original run, complete with duotone blue jumpsuit and primary-colored hellfire!
Hey, you try finding a leather jacket big enough to fit around a giant banana.
C.C. Banana strikes a pose in front of the current Ghost Rider. You know, the one he doesn't look like. Say, did you know that C.C. Banana reads Comic Book Resources? Well, Comic Book Resources does. Thanks to Jonah Weiland and Augie De Blieck, Jr. for the memorable encounter.
C.C. Banana takes a shot to the jaw from the Kingdom Come incarnation of Superman!
Ghost Rider teams up with a Ghostbuster!
C.C. Banana gets roped into what appears to be some sort of anime bachelor auction. Rumor has it that the highest bid for the yellow fellow is 3 Pokemon cards and a box of pocky.
C.C. Banana acts out one of his favorite Dokken songs... "Breaking the Chains!"
While at the New York Comic Con, C.C. Banana decides to audition for the second season of the hit Sci-Fi Channel reality series Who Wants to Be a Superhero? featuring comic book icon Stan "The Man" Lee! Dressed to impress, C.C. is sporting his original superhero threads to be sure to look the part.
Waiting on line to meet with the show's producers, C.C. is spotted by a representative of the ComicMix website! The ComicMixologists seem to like the Banana's chances so they give him a moment to shine. In fact, they give him two!
Soon thereafter, C.C. Banana is interviewed by a reporter from IGN! He doesn't quite catch her name, but she's holding a microphone and wearing a tight shirt... beyond that it's all blur. Click on the image above to watch their interview in its entirety (although you will need to endure a few other, less entertaining interviews before the Banana makes his appearance).
Apparently his on-camera exchange has served to push the Banana a step ahead of the competition. Here, one of the show staffers selects C.C. as one of only a handful of applicants to audition for Uncle Stan himself! If nothing else, C.C. Banana will be honored to simply hear the legendary Mr. Lee utter his name aloud. Excelsior!
Whether or not C.C. proceeds to the next round of the competition, he undoubtedly makes a good impression upon those who witness him in action. In fact, he features quite prominently into the above article from the "New York Press!" As J.R. Taylor reports, "C.C. Banana proves to be a true star," stating simply: "The guy's practically a superhero already." Click on the image above to read the full flattering story!
C.C. Banana rubs elbows with Major Victory and Feedback from the first season of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? It's too bad that fellow contestant Fat Momma doesn't stick around because C.C. kind of has a thing for her...
He may not be a superhero, but he sure is super cool! Yes, that really is actor Gary Coleman sitting beside C.C. Banana at the New York Comic Con. Why is he there? What connection does he have to the world of superpowers and spandex? No one seems to know for sure. But he does provide C.C. with an opportunity to at last contribute something fun to the Pop Life Re-Cap! Head on over to read the Banana's exclusive interview with the esteemed Mr. Coleman, in which the two discuss a topic near and dear to Gary's heart... the Robotech cartoon series.
No, seriously.
You need to read it to believe it.
Additionally, C.C. Banana has the privilege of interviewing the man behind the devilish Darth Maul... actor Ray Park! Ray proves to be a great sport about the whole thing and rolls with all the asinine inquiries thrown his way (even though he seems to have absolutely no idea why a man in a banana suit is asking him questions).
The first time C.C. Banana encountered Ray in person was at the original Star Wars Celebration in 1999, when Ray made his very first appearance for the fans. C.C. vividly recalls watching a pack of enthusiastic women rush the stage when the newest Sith hunk made his debut, convincing the yellow fruit that the man in red would soon be seeing plenty of pink!
Case in point... the DMEB.
Ray Park flashes a smile and a gives hearty thumbs-up, grateful to have survived his Banana interrogation!
Other Star Wars personnel on hand at the New York Comic Con include actor Daniel Logan, better known as the tween-age Boba Fett From Episode II. As you can see, Daniel is more than happy to be subjected to a Banana interview of his own!
Daniel Logan points to his new favorite fruit, C.C. Banana!
In addition to Ray Park and Daniel Logan, C.C. Banana also manages to conduct interviews with noted Star Wars author Timothy Zahn and Chewbacca himself, actor Peter Mayhew! Along with one additional chat (with prequel actress Nalini Krishan), these interviews form the basis of C.C. Banana's Peel The Force campaign, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga. Lest there be any doubt, this momentous occasion features the long-awaited return of... Bananakin Skywalker!
As our calamitous comics caper comes to a climactic close, C.C would like to thank the dynamic duo of Jose and Laura Quiles for faithfully following the fruit and documenting his deeds of derring-do. Sharp-eyed Banana fans may recognize Laura as the talented artist who created the original C.C. Banana T-shirt art (shown above), while Jose is the lucky bastard who married her! They're just so damn cute together that you simply have to pinch their cheeks!
And so ends C.C. Banana's adventure at the second annual New York Comic Con! Once again, the Banana enjoyed playing superhero and mingling with friends and fans alike. He also nabbed some great new interviews and got his mug in front of more than a few TV cameras, and that's always a good thing. In addition to everyone mentioned above, C.C. would like to thank old friend Jeff Gomez, older friend Bryan Reesman and new friend Arie Kaplan for their memorable encounters at the event. The Banana looks forward to his next exciting adventure and hopes that everyone will again come along for all the fun!
Who knows? One day the world may even see a return of the fantastic flaming fruit... C.C. Rider!
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