Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dcc, denver comic con, entertainment

Free Hugs From Frank Beddor At Denver Comic Con

Published Sat, 18 Jun 2016 17:00:15 -0500

Last updated Sun, 19 Jun 2016 08:49:53 -0500

Ashleigh Jay writes,

Frank Beddor is amazingly kind and friendly. When I originally told him that I had read most of his books, he came up to me and gave me a hug. Beddor was very attentive to everyone that came to talk to him at his table. He kept smiling and answering all of the questions thrown his way flawlessly.

Frank Beddor wrote the entire Looking Glass Wars trilogy. It is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Instead of Alice, her name is Alyss Heart. She came from Wonderland after her aunt Redd crashed her birthday party. He also wrote the Hatter M graphic novels which are about the queen's bodyguard, Hatter Madigan and his time in our world. Beddor is a New York Times Bestselling Author. His novels were originally sold in the U.K. before being sold in the United States. The books were first sold on Amazon. They became bestsellers there. Beddor was able to sell his comics in the United States and at comic cons such as DCC. His single issue Hatter M comics, drawn by artist Ben Templesmith, were being sold with an ad for his novels in the back. People saw the ads and bought his books offline. The books have now been available in the United States for a little while because enough people were interested in them.

Beddor has been attending Denver Comic Con since first year it was held. He was talking to me about how some people don't understand that a comic con does not just feature comics but also other forms of media. He said that comic cons are "all about pop culture." They not only are about the comics but also fiction and characters and other media platforms.

I asked Frank what gave him the idea for his novels and this incredible and complex story. He responded by joking that it was because he ate too many mushrooms, but he described how he went to the British Museum and discovered some ancient cards they had on display. Most of the cards were created because Napoleon had artists recreate pictures of his victories on these cards. Beddor also said that he found another set of cards that depicted a grimmer Alice in Wonderland, but some of the cards were missing. After days of annoying his friend with discussion about the cards, his friend hooked him up with an antiques guy who knew another antiques person who specialized in cards. This antiques person actually had a few of the cards that the museum was missing. The mystery fascinated him so much that he decided to write a story about it.

In the Hatter M graphic novels, Hatter is trapped in our world searching for the lost Princess Alyss. During that time, he travels a variety of places. Frank Beddor made sure to include chunks of history in his storytelling. This makes the tale more believable. Frank told me that was the secret to making the story seem real.

Frank is not only conquering books and graphic novels, but soon he will be creating a television show featuring Hatter Madigan and Princess Alyss during the thirteen years they were stranded on Earth. The show will feature the stories of what happened to Hatter and Alyss while they were away from Wonderland. Beddor said he was going to explore as much as he could in this world while observing the show's success before divulging into the special effects that would play an important role in recreating Wonderland.

At one point Frank Beddor had a Kickstarter where if you paid $500, you could be a character in one of his books. He had one person sign up for the donation. That person was Caryn Johnson, but you may know her better as Whoopi Goldberg. Beddor had chosen her to be the face of the Queen of Clubs. Whoopi also invited Frank and some of his friends to join her on her show. They got to dress up as some of the characters from the Looking Glass Wars series. He showed me a picture where they were all smiling wide.

Another thing that Frank Beddor has been working on is a book series following a young Hatter Madigan while he trains at Wonderland's Millinery Academy. The first book, Hatter Madigan: Ghost in the Hatbox, was published on April 18, 2016. Along with the other things Frank Beddor was selling, he had a free one issue comic that was the story of what happens immediately prior to when the first book starts. Right after the comic comes the first two chapters of his new book. As a reporter for Bleeding Cool, I got an exclusive on the title of the next book in the four book series. Beddor told me that he just woke up one night and came up with the title. The book will be called Diamond in the Rough. He explained that this was because the Diamonds would be going against the rules. If you have followed the series, this will be another one to look for in the future.