Sara Underwood #WizardWorld Austin 2013

First – as I sit in front of the key board I mystically wave my hands in front of the monitor and say: Mom…Dad… this is NOT the blog you’re looking for…

1200 miles away, Mom and Dad are reading this with a confused look on their faces.

I sense the disturbance in the internet...I then say: You can go about your business.  Move along…move along.

I pause and reach out, feeling the energy field that surrounds us and binds us…no luck. I know they are reading this. Ugh. 

Second – Your Honor, I plead guilty but with extenuating circumstances. I was led astray by associates of lesser character.  I deliver my 400 previous posts as evidence that I’m a ‘nice guy’ that you really can take home to mom. I’m not that guy that leers and drools over Playmates. The behavior recently displayed, while mild among the general public, was an aberration and I also find it embarrassing. 

Your Honor, I would like to further state, that the photo which is the center of this event is rated PG.  Not even PG 13. While Miss Underwood is clearly naked, she is also clearly covered.

So…After vising Ivy Doomkitty, Dee and Dee walked with me as we checked to see if Sara Jean Underwood was back at her table.

It was perfect timing. We saw Sara leading the way behind a rather large handler/bodyguard.  She walked past us. Trying not to stare, I noticed her abs.  Her shirt exposed about 3 inches of stomach.  She proudly showed the abs that most women find impossible to get. Somehow Sara balanced a low carb diet in a way that allowed the muscle to display but keep the softness and beauty in her face.

Ivy Doomkitty #WizardWorld 2013

Cosplay (Costume play) has been around forever.  After all, what is a masquerade party?  Halloween is another example.  It’s been with us for centuries.

I liked the little paw print she added over her 'i'.

Modern cosplay, dressing up in public when you aren’t expected to, probably started with Forry Ackerman at the first WorldCon in 1939. He dressed up in a futuristic outfit and people have been imitating him ever since.

And if you don’t know who Forry is, you’re not a nerd.  Look him up. Nerd-dom owes him a lot.

Cosplay has grown up around me and mutated in something semiprofessional and I hadn't noticed until recently.  It’s no longer the unfortunately shaped person spilling out of their spandex in inappropriate places.   There are ‘legends’ of cosplay and cosplayers are traveling from convention to convention to see fans and sell photos and calendars.

Amy Bruni #WizardWorld 2013 #GhostHunters

Believe it or not, Ghost Hunters has been on the air for 10 years.  And I’ll admit to watching it for most of those 10 years.  When I had the chance to pick up Amy Bruni’s autograph I could not pass it up.

She greeted me brightly and with a nice smile. We chatted about the unusual cold weather Austin was having.  I noticed she had her heavy winter jacket so she was prepared and we joked that she was the only celeb with common sense.

She confirmed the show was renewed for a 10^th season and a 200^th episode was around the corner.  After a moment more of chitchat, I thanked her for the auto and left.

AH

Ian Ziering #WizardWorld 2013

Fresh off his appearance in Sharknado, which was not as bad of a movie as people said, Ian Ziering attended Austin ComicCon. 

While he never had a long line, he did seem to always have someone in line. Mostly it was women that drooled over him in 90210 or maybe from Dancing with the Stars.  When my friend (one half of the Dee and Dee team) and I walked up, Ian was alone.

I choose a photo and he signed.  Somehow the conversation rapidly went to motorcycles and racing. Something neither my friend nor I know anything about. We attempted to bluff at the topic. We would ask a leading question and it was eagerly answered in detail.  One thing I do remember is he has/had a cycle that was too fast and it was a piece of art. It should be hung in his living room so people could admire it…but the wife would not allow it.

He seemed genuinely friendly and I am sure if we even knew anything about cycles we would have been hanging out in bar swapping stories. 

AH

Erica Durance #WizardWorld 2013

As many autographs that I have gotten from Smallville, you’d think I would have seen the show once or twice.  I can now add Erica Durance to the list.

I caught her at a good time. I walked right up.  My friend’s Dee and Dee told me she was very friendly.  I felt pressured to have a memorable time with her.  I said hello and tried to keep eye contact but I did need to scan her selection of photos. Her selection proved she did not have body image issues.  She had a nice selection including one in formal wear and some much more revealing.  The more revealing photos were another reason to try to keep eye contact.  Drooling is never good for a first impression.

I choose a more modest one and handed it over.  I then asked how many SDCC panels she attended.  Well, you know me, I can talk ComicCon all day. So we spent a minute talking about San Diego and the end of the show.  While I never watched the show, I had actually sat through a couple of the panels in Hall H. 

Not wanting to over stay my welcome, I thanked her and left.

AH

Sarah Wayne Callies #WizardWorld 2013

Sarah Wayne Callies had a character I loved to hate in Walking Dead. Her character created so much tension that I was relieved when she died.  A sad thing to say but if you watch the series, I bet you agree with me.

The line was long. It was interrupted because of a short break.  The odd thing of the break was Sarah need directions but the Volunteer didn’t know where to send her. He pointed in one direction and the few people that were listening in each pointed in different directions.   Then she got stuck as the crowd swarmed to take pictures and see her up close.

The delay was 5 or so minutes. Finally, the handler/manager came to the rescue and led her off.  As soon as Sarah was gone the crowd dispersed.  Even though she is a character people loved to hate, she is popular.

As with everyone on the Waling Dead cast, she was friendly and took her time with the fans. She had some side bar conversations with people still in line as she waited for people to finished selecting a photo or paying.

So my turn in front of her, I was surprised how much younger and prettier she looked in person. I mentioned that and she smiled. I guess she gets that all of the time. She said it’s easy to ‘clean up’ when your job is being covered in blood and dirt and wear tattered clothes.  Good point.  Still, she was very pretty women.

AH

Scott Bakula #WizardWorld 2013

I never watched Quantum Leap but I did watch Enterprise. At times, the show drove me nuts with continuity issues with the original series, I still enjoyed it.  I thought Scott Bakula made a convincing Captain. Since I’m a big Trekkie, Scott was on my ‘must have’ list.

Surprisingly, the line was fairly short. Maybe he priced himself out of the market.  Shatner’s line didn’t seem very long either so maybe Austin isn’t a big Trekkie town. 

Scott was standing the whole time. He talked with everyone.   When I slide in front of him, he was actually taller than I expected.  So often ‘leads’ are several inches less than 6 feet that I can’t help but look down at them.  Scott and I were close in height.

As he signed I mentioned I really enjoyed Enterprise. He said the norm: it was fun. I also mentioned I liked the beagle.  He said: yeah, people liked the dog too.  Then he paused.  He backtracked and said: it was hit or miss with the beagle.  He liked it but a lot of people really didn’t.

Interesting a small dog could be polarizing. I took that tidbit and left.

AH

Robert Rodriguez #WizardWorld 2013

I actually enjoyed the Spy Kid movies for several reasons. Some, I have already wrote about before. I think I still surprise people when they find out that I know who Robert Rodriguez is.  It’s almost like I don’t belong to the club so I should be clueless.

Robert Rodriguez was the first autograph I got at Austin ComicCon. The line was short but constant.  A lot of people know who he is.  One of the reasons he was in attendance, besides being an Austin Native, was to raise money for the Frank Frazetta museum.  Robert wants to move the museum to Austin.

 When I stood in front of Robert I was prepared to say a few things but me didn’t give me a chance. He jumped right in and asked if I know who Frazetta was. I smiled and told him half the books I read in the 70’s have covers by him. He seemed to like that.  He then asked if I saw the display upstairs.   I said no. He told me I HAD to visit the museum upstairs. He then gave me the elevator speech about the display and the fund raiser.

I smiled again and thanked him as he handed me my photo.

AH

#WizardWorld Austin ComicCon 2013

If you don’t know, Wizard World puts on a ComicCon in multiple locations throughout the country. They now land in 16 different cities a year. They probably have one near you and you can check them out yourself.

I drove down the morning of the show.  The worst part of the 3 hour drive to Austin is the last 2 miles.  I need to learn to take a better exit.  Those last 2 miles were 20 minutes.  Austin is ALWAYS like that.

The parking lot I normally use was full.  I spent another 15 minutes finding another lot.  The impromptu lot was the same price and maybe even closer.  I spent another hour in line getting my wristband and my prepaid autograph ticket.

When I entered the expo floor, I was disappointed. The first few aisles were clogged with people.  There was no room to get people through the congestion and disperse.  Between the gawkers and the clueless and the booths, it was 5 minutes before I could breathe and walk freely.

This show seemed very crowded but a lot of people seemed to be in the panels and the vendor area instead of the autograph lines. Certainly the Walking Dead cast and the Wrestlers had the biggest crowds but I didn’t need to wait long for the people I needed.

I’m sure the larger crowd was based partially on the SyFy channel’s Heroes Of Cosplay show that spotlighted Wizard World. While it seems all conventions have grown in size the last few years, this show seems to have made a large jump from last year’s attendance.

The show offers nice selection of celebs and artists. People seem happy with their ViP tickets and company that does the photo ops.  A lot of fan groups turn out for these shows. The show hosts a good selection of venders, so you can find what you want/need.

Of course the best part for me was meeting my friends, Dee and Dee.  They helped me get some autographs and we had a nice long lunch together.  That’s something we don’t do enough.  After that, I ended up having desert with other friends, Bee and her daughter Arr.

AH