Jake Busey Fan Expo Dallas 2026

The convention was hot. I had spent a lot of time in lines, including the one for Jake Busey. He was spending a lot of time with the fans. Especially regarding Starship Troopers. Jake is muscular and his short sleeves showed off the tattoos and biceps.

When I finally got to the table, the handler was too bubbly for me. I was drenched in sweat and needed some electrolytes. I handed her money, and slid my photo over to her. She was waiting for me to respond and I didn’t, I just stood there and sweated.

As I stepped forward, I could tell, she wanted to say something to Jake about my attitude. But I was saving energy for him. I opened up. We shook hands, a hard strong grip. I welcomed him to Texas and wished him a great convention. I told him I was Strangers Things fan so I offered this photo. He nodded and signed.

Then we shook again and I wandered off for some water and Gatorade.

AH

Jamie Campbell Bower and others Big Texas ComicCon 2025

I need a little latitude on this one. I’m going to ramble.

For me, one of the longer lines at Big Texas ComicCon was the line for Jamie Campbell Bower. The girls were in line for Twilight or Stranger Things.  And before you guess incorrectly, I was in line for Stranger Things.

When I finally got in front of Jamie, I handed over the photo and he gave me a suggestion on color to use.  I vetoed and suggested another and he said his pens of that color were crap. So, we compromised with the light blue, which I actually like.

Then I mentioned SDCC. Yes, I’m known to do that. I told him I got his autograph there for The Prisoner. He looked up with shock.  He paused. Then asked me how long ago was that.  I told him I don’t remember but we were both a lot younger. (I checked and it was 2009) He smiled. Then he said wistfully, he could drink a lot more back then.

We briefly threw names back and forth about that show. Jim Caviezel and Lenny James were at the table and also signed. Then he mentioned Ian McKellen and Hayley Atwell were also in the show…which I did not know. They were not signing. Or at least I wasn’t aware of that.

He asked how I got the autographs for The Prisoner. He asked if I was press or a studio employee. I briefly said SDCC did a raffle and I was lucky. 

The AMC booth at SDCC also did credit card sized ID card. As a fan, they took your photo and assigned you a number.  I remember watching this updated version of the Prisoner not liking it. The version with Patrick McGoohan is a favorite and it was hard to see a re-visioning.

I’m posting an image of the signed item from SDCC. The signatures for Jamie and Lenny are much different from 2009. 

AH

Eduardo Franco Big Texas ComicCon 2024

I missed getting Eduardo Franco in Dallas a year or two ago. He appeared just after a season of Stranger Things dropped. He was top of mind for a lot of people. He had a very long line and it was mostly very young girls.

This year, the line was shorter.

He is very tall. Over 6 feet. I saw him walking through the crowd. The population in San Antonio is short so he towered over most people. And that hair is sooo long. Am I jealous?  Yeah. I wish I had a full head of hair. Not that long but a full head of hair.

He was quiet and friendly. He offered a quote and I was happy. We chatted a bit and then I was on my way.

AH

Joseph Quinn Fan Expo Dallas 2023

As I expected, Joseph Quinn had a vey long line. After Grace Van Dien signed for me, I got into Joseph’s line. His line was MUCH shorter than earlier. It was late on Friday night and close to closing time. I wondered if I could get this done before the cut off the line.

The convention had set up a curtained booth for Joseph. It afforded him some privacy. However, it frustrated fans that just wanted to ’see’ him.

Joseph was moving fast. He did look up and smile for each person. His handlers were moving the fans through just as quick. He signed. He smiled. I thanked him. He moved on to the next item to sign.

After I got out of the booth, It was closing time. Considering the amount of time in line and the heat, I was surprised I got this much done.  I left for the night. On the way home, I stopped and got Gatorade to re-hydrate.

AH

Grace Van Dien Fan Expo Dallas 2023

I was very surprised that when I stepped around the corner, the line for Grace Van Dien was ‘short’. When I walked past the table earlier, the line was long.  I wasn’t going to complain and I got in line.

Grace was taking lots of selfies with fans. She seemed to enjoy the interaction. Grace played a character that connected to lots of people. Since I wasn’t female and I’m older than 20, we didn’t have much to say to each other.

But she was nice and I thanked her for signing the photo I printed.

AH

Matthew Modine Dallas Fan Days 2019

You were in line for Matthew Modine, either Full Metal Jacket or Stranger Things.  It was a toss-up for me too.  I decided to do Stranger Things as The Wife would understand that. I had a fun time in line.

Matthew was placed next to Adam Baldwin, who also was in Full Metal Jacket. Adam said something to a fan and Matthew overheard and quoted something back from the movie. It seemed like a non sequitur to the young fan in front of Matthew. It made me laugh. Matthew sheepishly said it was an inside joke. The young fan did not get the reference at all.

There was a family was in front of me. The daughter was dressed as Eleven from Stranger Things.  She was floating on cloud 9 the whole time.  Her happy grin was plastered to her face. When she got her photo signed, Matthew asked her a few questions.  She answered and then walked off.  Mom and Dad called her back, they needed to get the selfie they planned. I’m sure the camera did not show her pink face.

As I chose a photo from Stanger Things to get signed, I saw another on the table that caught my interest.  It was a dark image of a young man sitting on the floor of a cell.  It was from the movie Birdy.  Don’t worry, I know you haven’t seen it.

After Matthew signed my photo, I mentioned Birdy.  He sat back and asked if I really saw it.  I nodded yes.  I told him I loved the sound track; it was Peter Gabriel.  He got exited and told me at the cast party, he met a guy. They were chatting and he found out the guy wrote the sound track.  At the time, Matthew had no idea who Peter Gabriel was or that he was with Genesis. The excitement of the meeting came months later when he learned more.

AH

Mark Steger Stranger Things DragonCon 2019

I picked up Mark Steger autograph on Sunday. I had passed his table a few times.  While his line wasn’t long, there seemed to be people in it most of the time.

When I walked up, we exchanged helloes.  I found the photo I wanted signed quickly but I got side tracked by another.

It was a photo from I am Legend with Will Smith. I really liked that movie. Mark played a ‘vampire’ on the operating table.  When I pointed out the photo, he asked if I knew anything about the movie. Not sure where he was going, I let him talk.  He said the movie was made once before and called Omega Man with Charleston Heston.

I told him I really like that version too.

The ball was in my court and I lobbed it back to him and said Vincent Price did a movie version too. it was called Last Man on Earth.   Mark nodded that I was correct.  I paused and waited to see if he had the next link.  He was quiet.

So I told him the Vincent Price movie was pretty close to the book, I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Matheson also wrote the Incredible Shrinking Man and Legend of Hell House.

Then he talked me into taking a selfie with him. I think I impressed him with my I am Legend knowledge.

AH

Finn Wolfhard Fan Expo Dallas 2019

I have Finn Wolfhard on an ‘It’ mini poster. Yes, another SDCC anecdote.

Since I have most of the cast from Stranger Things on 8 x 10’s I stood in the long lines of teen and pre-teen girls.  The girls were dramatically excited. The line moved fairly fast. Since the line was moving, the dramatics were more entertaining than irritating.

Because of the nature of his fans, I must give him some props. He has a moment to figure out how to react to the overly excited fans. Some are giggling, some near tears, some silent, some lingering. That’s a lot for a guy that might be twenty years old to digest at convention. He navigated those waters well.

 AH

Sadie Sink – Fan Expo Dallas 2018

Who doesn’t like Stranger Things? The next line I jumped into was Sadie Sink’s. The link was very short. As I handed over my money, the handler was unorganized. She was too busy trying to tell me how nice Sadie was and asking how I was and making change and that I could pick any photo on the table and if I wanted to do a selfie.

Meanwhile, Sadie was standing there bored waiting for the handler to finish. I told the handler, as she was still trying to give me my change, I would take the photo at the end of the table with the skateboard.  Sadie, trying to help and make the process quicker, picked up my photo from the stack and signed it before I tucked my change back into my pocket.

When I finally disengaged with the handler, Sadie asked if I wanted it personalized.  I declined. But since the handlers  was going through the same spiel with the person behind me, I asked if she was enjoying the show. She smiled and said something noncommittal.  Because there was still a gap between me and the next fan, I asked if she ever been to Dallas before.

Then the quiet man standing close to her spoke up and said hello. My brain went through several scenarios. I had a good guess who this was. I stuck out my hand and asked, Dad? I gave him a  smile.  He smiled back and nodded yes. So I directed my question to him.

He was being protective of his 16 yr old daughter. He didn’t want someone that could be her granddad creeping on her. I respect that. So he and I exchanged the normally pleasantries I do when I meet the celebs.  I never looked back at his daughter and I kept solid eye contact with him. I just wanted to let him know I was not a threat.  Then I thanked him and left.

I wish I saw more of that from the parents of kid actors.

AH

Catherine Dyer and Randy Havens Alamo City 2017

With the new season of Strangers Things available, it’s surprising more actors from the show are not on the circuit. Alamo City ComicCon had both CatherineDyer and Randy Havens in attendance.

As Catherine and I chit chatted, I asked if she was going to be in season 2. She looked at me.  With a wry smile she said she was killed off.

Me: Oh Honey, I’m sorry. I truly don’t remember that.

Catherine: yes, they did it. So, I’m not coming back.

Me: awkward silence. Proverbial crickets in the background.

She was nice about. It was my fault for not having watched Strangers Things 5 times. It would also help if I didn’t play Words with Friends while watching TV…

I did not embarrass myself with Randy that way. I was just kept to the basics: Hi, love the show, thanks for coming to San Antonio, thanks, bye.

AH

Stranger Things – classy kids ACCC 2016

The Netflix hit of the year was Stranger Things.   The stars of the show are kids. It does feels a little weird for a 50 plus year old guy to ask kids that are just barely teenagers for their autographs. As I mentioned before, collecting autographs is an addiction.

I added three of the kids from the show to my collection. And all three were very classy.

Gaten Matarazzo – a fellow Jersey-ian.  He spent a lot of time in front of his table as he posed for photos and chatted with other fans that were kids. He took time asking that the photo looked good.  He constantly had a smile on his face and seemed open to answer any question.

Noah Schapp – when I walked through the empty corral, the handler rushed up to me to turn me away.  I was told Noah was leaving for lunch. Ok, no problem.  A kid needs his 3 square a day. Then the dad asked what I had.  Without saying a word, I showed my photos. Dad waved me in and Noah perked up ready to receive me.

Of course the handler didn’t see this as his back was turned.  He looked at me menacingly. Okay not menacingly.  He was barely in his 20’s, less than half my weight, and about a foot shorter. But he did look at me.  With intensity he asked if I ‘needed something’ with the not so hidden meaning of ‘what’s the problem dude’.  I smiled.  I had to give the handler credit. It was brave.  Now Noah is waving me in.  I leaned forward and asked the handler if he could turn and look at the table.   I mentioned they are waving me in. I also said I wasn’t planning of pushing past him but I have conflicting messages that I hoped could be fixed.  He turned and saw the others motioning me forward. He moved out of my way.

Noah was friendly and thanked me for coming and stopping by.  Dad apologized for the confusion.   I thought nothing of it but in a positive way.  They stayed a little long so I didn’t have to come back in an hour.  I thanked both of them for that. Neither of them thought staying a little longer was an issue.

Caleb McLaughlin – with any show, there are times when the lines ebb.  One of these times, a small child started walking through the corral toward Caleb.  The corrals turn back and forth to stack a larger group of people neatly into a smaller space. This child was about 3 foot tall.  His back was twisted. His hips were wide and the gait was painful to watch. One arm was in a large cast and some metal rods were sticking out of it.  The hand at the end of that cast was malformed. The child’s dad was a few feet behind him as they slowly navigated the lanes.  It seems they waited for a time to avoid the crowds.

Caleb looked up. He hopped off his chair and met the child about half way up the line. He instantly knelled on one knee and started chatting with the child.  A moment later, Caleb’s father realized what his son did and went to greet the father.  Then the 4 of them slowly made their way to the table and chatted.  I lost track of all of them as my line moved but it was heartwarming.

AH

Millie Bobby Brown Dallas Fan Day 2016

While only 8 episodes, Stranger Things has become a sensation.  The child stars are appearing at lots of conventions across the country.  Dallas Fan Days brought in Millie Bobby Brown.

It’s odd to get an autograph from a child. The personality of the person and the signature will change as they grow up. Because the show is so popular it’s also hard to refrain from getting the actors when they come into town. We all know I have an autograph addiction so I stood in line, paid my money, and picked up my autograph.

Millie was quiet. Her hair has grown yet still short. She seemed more relaxed as fellow kids came to her. Understandably, she was subdued with adults. We exchanged a few words (‘Hi, thanks for coming to Dallas.’, ‘It’s nice to be here. Thanks for having me.’)

Then I went my way.

AH