SDCC and The Beatles 2018

This is not a complaint. It’s a wonderful observation. For some reason, this was a very Beatles ComicCon.

Alex Ross had some wonderful prints for sale. There was a set of 4 but there was some ancillary artwork to make it a larger college or theme to a wall. It would have looked awesome in our house. I have no idea about the prices or the worth or how many copies but they were beautiful. My photos are hurried as I wasn’t sure I was allowed to take photos. I wanted to show them to friends but not get caught. Please forgive the cock-eyed images.

Then Mattel created Hot Wheels to celebrate several Beatle albums. I’m not sure if they had cars for each record or the only the ones that were soundtracks to their movies.

Lastly, Titan Comics did a companion book to the Yellow Submarine and I got the artists to sign their book. 

Bill Morrison, Nathan Kane, and Andrew Pepoy signed.

AH

Neal Shusterman SDCC 2018

I actually said this to Neal Shusterman: it was about time I met him. He looked at me oddly. I told him it seemed every time I planned on seeing him, something came up and I missed out. He has actually been to Dallas (and maybe Frisco) within the last 2 years. I had to travel half way across the country to get him to sign a book. Funny how The Fates conspire.

Maybe his next book tour I won’t have to lug around a hardback half a day.

AH

Lynn Johnston SDCC 2018

The last several years, the IDW booth has been good to me. This year, they had Lynn Johnston who did the For Better or For Worse comic strip.  I read her comic for years in Jersey and when I moved to Dallas as a young adult. I only stopped reading it when we stopped getting a newspaper.

Early that morning I bought the massive tome For Better or For Worse: The Complete Library Vol 2.  It weighs about 5 pounds. Not fun to walk around ComicCon with that extra weight.  When it was time for the signing, I didn’t see her. I would have hated to have missed her. Just before I tracked someone down, I saw her sitting on a side counter talking to a man with a microphone. It looked like she was being interviewed.  I caught the attention of the booth attendee and he said I could walk right up. I wasn’t interrupting anything.

I slowly approached to make sure I didn’t ruin the interview and they both looked up and smiled. I introduced myself and told her I read the strip for years.  She introduced me to the blogger that was interviewing her.  He wanted to ask me some questions.  I paused as I tried to come up with some quick repartee. He saw my looked and told me it was not an issue if I didn’t want to be interviewed.  I teasingly threw out that I would end up talking about Farley and get all teary eyed. And I didn’t want to cry at ComicCon. We all laughed. And DANG IT!, I started thinking about Farley and I got all teary eyed! I jinxed myself.  And yes, I’m a little misty as I write this. Sniff.

Lynn had signed the book that I had selected that morning. When I handed over the book she picked up a blue pencil and shaded the sketch. It was great meeting her and she was very friendly.

AH

Deadly Class Image signing SDCC 2018

Did I mentioned, I didn’t have any luck with the online raffles for this SDCC? Because I didn’t need to get in line for the WB and Fox signing at O’ Dark thirty each morning, I could focus on some other signings around the convention.  One of them was the Image booth signing for Deadly Class.

The signing was a mix of the comic creators, actors, and TV people.  The people signing seemed as pumped and the fans getting the autographs. I think everyone of them thank me for waiting in line and being excited abut the show.  It was nice.

They had 9 people signing. It was hard to know who was who and I think I identified all of the signatures and the placement correctly.

Lana Condor (top left), Maria Gabriela de Faria (top right), Luke Tennie (center), Wesley Craig (center), Benjamin Wadsworth (center right wrote BW - Marus), Benedict Wong (middle bottom left), Rick Remender (lower center), Mick Betancourt (bottom right vertical), Miles Orion Feldsott (bottom left).

I also bought a graphic novel that they all signed.

AH

Kari Byron SDCC 2018

Who doesn’t love the semi red-head Kari Bryon from Myth Busters?

I have been fortunate enough to win a raffle ticket for a MythBusters (or alumni) every time I‘ve tried. Unfortunately, only once have I been able to get an autograph. Either the line is too slow and I need to leave or I have conflicts and can’t attend.

This time, Kari was signing her book, Crash Test Girl at the Harper Collins booth and I could actually attend. She gave me that heart melting smile. I told her I really enjoyed MythBusters and blah blah blah.  I asked if could sign the photo I printed.  When she saw the photo, she told me that was from a special day. She just returned from maternity leave and she was worried if she still had ‘it’.  Once she shot the rifle and hit the target with the first attempt, she knew she was ’back’.

Surprisingly, she brought her own photos and she gave me one of those signed too.  Three autographs in one visit AND that smile…very nice.

AH

Rodney Allen Rippy SDCC 2018

Yes, I said it. Rodney Allen Rippy. Now look up. Is there a question mark above your head?  Oh well, that means you are too young.

In the early 70’s he was seen all over the place: Merv, Mike, Dinah, and even Johnny.

He was very friendly and willing to chat about old times and new.  He had a nice selection of photos and it was a fun walk down memory lane.

AH

Benedict Wong SDCC 2018

In the past, I have more or less posted the autographs in the order I obtained them. This year, I’m unorganized.  I moved everything upstairs and I’m still trying to figure out where things go. I’m temporarily short on work space. I’m not going to be so anal this time. I’m going to post things that make a dent in the clutter more than chronological order.

I was actually surprised to see Benedict Wong in the Sails Pavilion doing a public signing. I’m also surprised he didn’t have a longer line.  He was friendly and he had an English accent. He was very serious about no photos unless you paid for them a selfie.  With a smile he got up and hid behind the convention booth piping as a fan tried to sneak a photo. He didn’t come out until the fan put the camera away.

We talked about The Martian and his character and estimates to fix a problem.  The selection of photos was mostly Dr Strange. The one photo from The Martian wasn’t very good but I like the one I got.

AH

SDCC 2018 recap

My first SDCC was 2005.  I know it was 2005 because I attended the Lost panel. Josh Holloway and Maggie Grace was there. My primary goal for that ComicCon was to get Ray Bradbury’s autograph. I succeeded.

That was a different era. I bought my badge 5 or 6 weeks before that show. I had enough miles to fly for free. I stayed with a college buddy and didn’t have to pay for a hotel room. Parking was a breeze. There was no camping out. You could decide to go to Hall H at the spur of a moment. After you realized that was a boring panel, you could go to Ballroom 20 to see if that was more interesting.  If that was a bust, you could check in on Room 6BCF before the hour was over.

Since 2005, I attended every year but one. Work told me I was needed and could not have the time off. That happened about 2 weeks before the show. By my count that is 13 ComicCons I attended. 

When I told the wife that, she said it seemed like a lot more. In a way, it is.  SDCC is not a show you spend a few minutes thinking about and then go. It’s a big monstrous event.  You consume a lot of time researching various sites, message boards, and twitter accounts. You are looking for something that others might not know. You are looking for some info to help you decide if doing ‘A is a better idea than doing ‘B’. Over the years, the amount of research has been reduced as I narrowed my scope but it still a lot of time.

That is not counting the ramp up in emotions to get a Badge that occurs between Oct and Feb. Nor the ramp up and frustration of trying to get a hotel room in the hotel raffle. SDCC is always on your mind.

Enough ruminations of SDCC Past. There is no friendly ghostly Toucan guiding me on my journey.

2018 was an interesting year.

About 2-week before the show, I switched hotels. There was a chance opening and I jumped. We got a room in the Marriot Marque and Marina. It’s next to the convention center. It was a great upgrade.  Hotel room to Expo floor: 10 minutes.

About 4 days before the show, I got a cold (fever, shakes, lots and lots and LOTS of snot). I went to the Dr and he gave me some meds. I was sick the whole time but it was manageable. 2 weeks after SDCC, I’m still recovering.

Yes, I was Patient Zero for ConCrud 2018. I did not see all of the people I usually visit and chat with. Others, I saw but kept my distance. Unfortunately, the proletariats were ground zero. Sorry guys.

Because of the ‘new and improved’ autograph raffle system, I did not need to sleep on the sidewalk all night. I got about 6 hours of sleep each night…in a bed; which was needed because of the cold. But that new system yielded only 1 cast signing from WB and Fox. I normally get 6 or 7 a year.

This year I focused on books and a few odds and ends I previously ignored because I was focused on WB and Fox autographs.  This year I met some new people (hopefully at a ConCrud safe distance) that I hope to see again soon.

The pluses:

Sleep in a bed and not the sidewalk

A close hotel

Saw my SDCC buddies

Saw lots of friends and acquaintances

Meeting some new people

The Beatles were in vogue (Alex Ross, Mattel, and Titan Comics)

The negatives:

The autograph raffle

My cold

Not seeing some of the friends and acquaintances

Getting to be an old fuddy duddy

AH

Joe Bob Briggs Alamo Draft House June 2018

You say you don’t know who Joe Bob Briggs is? You must one of ‘those people’ that only watches artsy fartsy movies. He was/is a host of a movie show that caters to less than stellar cinematic endeavors.  Think of Elvira or Rhonda Shear but male and ‘country’.  When I first moved to Texas he had a show on one of the back-water channels and I think he even did reviews in the local paper.

Of course, when I saw that he was appearing at Alamo Draft House, I knew I had to get an autograph. He was friendly and nice and was harpy to add him to the collection.

AH