Comic-Con 2013: Top 13 Upcoming Events

COMIC-CON is this weekend! Specifically Comic-Con International: San Diego 2013, THE biggest convention in the world dedicated to all forms of entertainment including comic books, movies, video games, TV and more! Comic-Con International: San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. Comic-Con began in 1970 when a group of comics, movie, and science fiction fans banded together to put on the first comic book convention in southern California. Now over 40 years later it is the largest comics convention in the world, completely selling out every year since 2008. For those like me who aren't able to enjoy Comic-Con in person there are still plenty of websites, blogs and live video feeds covering the event from the comfort of your home. This weekend at Comic-Con, audiences can get their hands on tons of exclusive merchandise, and also attend many exciting panels with creators, artists, writers and celebrities of all kinds, and not to mention, see previews of some of the biggest events in entertainment coming up later this year and next year! CHERNOBOG'S LAIR.com always tries to stay on top of the latest entertainment news through my blog, twitter feed, and Facebook; so this weekend I thought I would post my Top 10 list of Upcoming Events featured at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Enjoy!

#13 Ender's Game (2013) - Based on the classic Young-Adult, Sci-Fi novel by Orson Scott Card, 70 years after a horrific alien war, an unusually gifted child is sent to an advanced military school in space to prepare for a future invasion. Starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield.
#12 Godzilla (2014) - Director Gareth Edwards' (Monsters) remake of the classic Kaiju franchise! A giant radioactive monster called Godzilla awakens from its slumber to wreak destruction on its creators!
#11 I, Frankenstein (2014) - Aaron Eckhart stars as Adam, Dr. Frankenstein's (Aden Young) creature, who finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.
#9 300: Rise of an Empire (2013) - New director Noam Murro's sequel to Zack Snyder's 300 (2006), The Greek general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) battles an invading army of Persians under the mortal-turned-god, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro)!
#8 Riddick (2013) - Vin Diesel is back as Riddick, after almost 10 years since Chronicles of Riddick (2004). After he is left for dead on a desert planet, Riddick is up against a new alien, predatory species and a  group of mercenaries after his head!
#7 The World's End (2013) - Director Edgar Wright reunites Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and others in the third installment of "The Cornetto Trilogy"! A group of old friends go on a pub crawl in London when they come to the last pub, "The World's End", they find the town has been taken over by strange alien robots!
#6 Batman: Arkham Origins - The highly anticipated third part of the Arkham Asylum video game series features new villains: Black Mask, Deathstroke, Deadshot, and Copperhead!
#5 Kick-Ass 2 (2013) - Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) return with a few new allies including Col. Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey), to take on some new villains including formerly Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)!
#4 Vikings, Season 2 (March, 2014) - Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and the Vikings return to pillage and plunder in the new season on History Channel!
#3 The Walking Dead, Season 4 (October 2013) - Based on Robert Kirkman's award winning graphic novel series, the survivors led by Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) live on in the Zombie apocalypse after dealing with the onslaught from The Governor (David Morrissey)!
#2 X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Director Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) reprising their roles as "older" characters from the previous X-Men movies. Also featuring a few new mutants including Bishop (Omar Sy) and introducing a new threat: The Sentinels!
#1 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Fall 2013) - The new TV series marks the return of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), leading a small group of agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.

Note: Unfortunately, it was announced by director Peter Jackson through YouTube that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug wouldn't be at San Diego Comic-Con!

LINKS: Comic-Con official Website, Comic-Con on Facebook, Comic-Con on Twitter,

Comic-Con Movie

Disney's Star Wars Weekends 2013

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Walt Disney World for their annual Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios! This is the third time I've experienced this event (the first was in 2008 and the last was in 2011), unfortunately I was unable to attend last year, but this year's celebration was extra special since it was the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi! Star Wars Weekends is a month long celebration of Star Wars featuring special guests, celebrities, characters and entertainment! This year's special guests included hosts James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo-Koon in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Also featured this year are: Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Captain Rex – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) and Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)!

Warwick Davis

As I was only able to attend the third weekend this time, I was however able to meet and get autographs from Tim rose and Sam Witwer. I have met other guests including Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davis, James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein in previous years.
Star Wars Weekends continues to grow not only in activities and special guests, but also in attendance. Many fans, both young and old, flock to Star Wars Weekends on regular basis. While some of the more interactive activities are meant for younger audiences, such as the "Padawan Mind Challenge" and the "Hyperspace Hoopla!", both hosted by Snig & Oopla at the Event Stage. The whole event starts off with the "Legends of the Force" Motorcade and Celebrity Welcome which features a parade including all the Disney/Star Wars characters, special guests and celebrities and also members of the 501st: "Vader's Fist", Florida Garrison and The Rebel Legion. One of the biggest draws at Star Wars Weekends is of course all the exclusive merchandise and collectibles available only at "Darth's Mall" along with photo opportunities with Star Wars characters and this year features an almost life-size Rancor! One of the most popular (and expensive) collectibles available at Star Wars Weekends is the "Carbon-Freeze Me" and a personalized Stormtrooper available at the D-Tech Me Experience Star Wars Weekends also features several entertaining shows for fans of the Clone Wars show from Cartoon Network including "Behind the Force: Star Wars Voices" hosted by Ashley Eckstein, along with "Obi-Wan and Beyond" and "Stars of the Saga" hosted by James Arnold Taylor. The most entertaining show at this year's Star Wars Weekends has to be "An Ewok's Tale-My Short Story" starring Warwick Davis. In it he tells his "short" life-story including how he got the parts as Wicket, the Ewok in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Willow and the Harry Potter series.

The Rancor!

As popularity for Star Wars never fails to grow even after 36 years, despite the recent controversy over Disney buying Lucasfilm from George Lucas, the upcoming release of Episode VII directed by J.J. Abrams in 2015, not to mention the cancellation of the immensely popular Clone Wars show from Cartoon Network and the upcoming new animated series Star Wars Rebels on Disney Channel XD in 2014! It is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan and it is both a pleasure and a relief to have annual events like Star Wars Weekends and Star Wars Celebration where fans can come together and revel in all things Star Wars! I hope to attend next year's Star Wars Weekends and hope to see you there as well! "May the Force Be With You!" and See you next year!

LINKS: Star Wars.com, Star Wars Weekends, Ashley Eckstein's Her Universe

Dallas Comic Con 2013

This weekend I went to Dallas Comic Con 2013 at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas. This is the second Comic Con event I've been to in the last year including Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days back in October. Dallas Comic Con is considered to be one of the largest "Mega-Cons" in the state along with smaller sister event the Sci-Fi Expo under the management of OfficialPix produced by C2 Ventures, Inc. This years' Comic Con was the biggest by far with 25,000 attendees! This years' Dallas Comic Con ran from May 17 to 19. Among the many special media guests included were: William Shatner, Richard Dean Anderson, John Noble, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Kevin Conroy, Ernie Hudson, Brandon Routh along with many others! Also in attendance were some great comic book creators, writers and artists such as Jim Steranko, John Romita, Jr., Arthur Suydam, J. David Spurlock and many more! The two biggest disappointments this year was the cancellation of special guest Nathan Fillion and the Art of Akira exhibit. Although the con was incredibly crowded with incredibly long lines, a broken escalator and over priced food, I managed to meet and get autographs from all the guests I planned to this year including: John Noble (Denethor, Lord of the Rings Trilogy), plus Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and also Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman, Batman Animated Series, Arkham Asylum)! The biggest thrill came from when me and my family met LeVar and Brent as we were dressed in our Star Trek uniform shirts, LeVar was overjoyed and took a picture of us on his own phone! I also had the pleasure of meeting comic book artists Jim Steranko and John Romita, Jr.! I was also able to attend several panels including the Kevin Conroy Q&A on Friday, the John Romita, Jr. Q&A on Saturday, and the Star Trek Q&A on Sunday. I love comic cons, the special guests, the vendors, the costumes/cosplay, but unfortunately, there is always the crowd. While I feel the crowd was somewhat manageable, the lines in the morning just to get in seemed so unorganized as we were lined up inside the convention center parking garage for hours! As for things that the con organizers had no control over, they were unavoidable such as the escalator breaking down Saturday afternoon and the convention center café running out of food on Sunday. But thankfully that did little to diminish the whole experience. I hope to return to Comic Con next year and may possibly attend the next Fan Days in October, there is also the Sci-Fi Expo in February.

LINKS: Dallas Comic Con Official Website, Dallas Comic Con on Facebook, Dallas Comic Con on Twitter

Dallas Comic-Con: Fan Days

This weekend I got to attend Dallas Comic-Con's Fan Days at Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas! 'Fan Days' is a special event sponsored by The Dallas Comic-Con which has been running since 1994. The Dallas Comic-Con usually occurs in May along with the Sci-Fi Expo in February. Fan Days is a huge pop-culture event presenting celebrity guess from movies and TV along with comic book artists and writers and of course a huge dealers room with tons of comics and collectibles! Some of this year's special celebrity guests included: Bruce Campbell, Felicia Day, Robert Englund, Ray Park, Sean Astin, Lance Henrikson, Ralph Bakshi, Ian McDiarmid, David Prowse and Stan Lee! The 501st also made an appearance along with the U.S. Marivne Corps. Reserve to support Toys For Tots. I have always been a regular attendee of some of the major conventions that occur around the Dallas-Ft.Wroth Metroplex (i.e. All-Con, A-Kon, AnimeFest, Comic-Con, Texas Frightmare) even when I was younger I would attend Star trek conventions with my parents.

Stan Lee

As conventions get bigger and more popular (and more crowded!) prices go up as well as the quality of celebrity guests get better. I have enjoyed going to these for years but it seems like every year it just gets crazier and even more expensive! I am a devoted con-goer and celebrity autograph collector. While back in the day for the price of admission you could get autographs from whatever celebrity you wanted (on your item) with an occasional fee if you wanted to purchase any photos or merchandise they might have. But in recent years, celebrities have been charging more and more for their autographs, anywhere from an average of $20 to $30. Now the average price at Comic-Con is $40 with some celebrities charging more. The most expensive guests this years included Stan Lee who charged $50 for an autograph and Ian McDiarmid for $100! And that's not including the offered "Photo-Op" or even personalization. With the thousands of people attending and even more thousands who only come for the autographs this makes it increasingly hard for the average fan to acquire autographs from your favorite guests. Some events like Dallas Comic-Con are even offering V.I.P. tickets for amounts up to $100 which gives those lucky few who pay for it many advantages such as early admission, preferred seating and even autograph or photo op 'jumps’ which allow you to "move forward in front of any general admission badge customers in any autograph line or photo op line".

Bruce Campbell

When I pre-ordered my ticket for the convention I had one goal in mind: to meet Bruce Campbell! Star of such cult/horror movies as The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness along with a number of TV (Hercules/Xena, Brisco County, Jr., Burn Notice), movie cameo appearances (Spider-man Trilogy) and voice work. I was excited to meet Stan Lee as well, but I had met him at a very special event when I was younger. I was also hoping to meet Star Wars actors like David Prowse, Ian McDiarmid and Ray Park. I had purchased my autograph ticket for Bruce Campbell so that I would be guaranteed to get an autograph but I didn't spend on the 'photo-op' ticket. While the convention started on Friday, the biggest and busiest day is always Saturday. There were so many people at the con (which was possibly over-sold) that most of the parking was in the adjacent field that surrounded the convention center. When I arrived around 11am, I happened to pass by Steve Niles' booth who was nice enough to sign my trade paperback of 30 Days of Night with no charge! Then I headed to the 4th floor to the main stage for the Bruce Campbell Q&A at 12pm. The panel was fairly crowded with fans as Bruce appeared dressed in a bright, white-suit. The first thing he talked about was the remake of Evil Dead and even treated us to an exclusive view of the trailer! Bruce and director of the original Sam Raimi, serve as producers of the film directed by Fede Alvarez. Bruce apparently fully endorses the film and says it is really different than the original. Bruce also talked about his experiences as 'Ash' on the The Evil Dead trilogy as well as Man with the Screaming Brain, Bubba Ho-Tep, and My Name Is Bruce. He also talked about his views on Evil Dead: The Musical. After the Q&A ended at 1pm, I headed back down to the 3rd floor to see what time the autograph session would be. It wasn't until 3pm so I figured I had some time. Right across the hall was the line for Ray Park, famous for his martial-arts work as The Headless Horseman's stunt-double in Sleepy Hollow, Snake-Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and of course Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, after I had waited in line for almost two hours for Ray, they cut off the line with me

Ray Park

While I now had to get in line for Bruce Campbell, I was impressed with the helpfulness of the con-staff and volunteers who assured me that I would be able to get into the next autograph session for Ray Park. I got in line for Bruce which had formed outside in a shaded walkway. I was waiting patiently with Group 2 with my ticket in hand and my Special Necronomicon Edition DVD of The Evil Dead! For anyone who follows my Twitter or Facebook feed knows, I was growing increasingly impatient in-line. While the weather was pleasant, the wind was very strong being under the outdoor, covered-walkway. Two hours later...I finally got in to see him around 5pm, he was very nice, signed my DVD/book with his flourished signature of Bruce along with 'Ash' and even added "P.S. Burn This!". Afterwards I was able to 'cut' in-line to see Ray Park, who was very approachable and easy to talk to, where I bought a nice glossy 8x10 of Darth Maul and later got to meet David 'Dave' Prowse who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy. As he did sign a glossy picture of Darth Vader I bought, he seemed somewhat enfeebled and was rather curt with me as he was also preoccupied, talking to a young lady (in a Star Trek uniform no less!?). Despite my one disappointment, I was very happy to have met Steve Niles, Bruce Campbell and Ray Park. Although I spent most of my Saturday waiting in lines (for almost 5 hours!) and very little time enjoying the rest of the convention, I was however, able to pick up a few affordable items from the dealers room, along with a few pictures and some great memories of one of the largest conventions I have ever been too...unfortunately I probably won't be coming back to for a long, long time!

LINKS: Fan Days.com, Dallas Comic-Con on Facebook, Dallas Comic-Con on Twitter

Special Movie Review: Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

This week is THE biggest annual comic book convention of all time: San Diego Comic-Con International 2012, and unfortunately...I won't be there! Comic-Con is like nerd Mecca and once a year, fans from all over the globe come and revel in all things comic books, movies, video games, anime, costumes, everything! We here in Texas have some pretty impressive conventions of our own like Dallas Comic-Con, but NOTHING compares to SDCC! Many fans like me dream of going Comic-Con, but whatever lack of funds or determination prevents you from going, fear not! Fortunately a group of geeks, nerds and filmmakers got together to make a documentary of epic proportions about...you guessed it: Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope! For anyone who has never been to a comic convention of any kind, you may be in for a shock. For those of us (like myself) who are regular attendees of conventions like this, get ready for an in-depth look at THE biggest convention in the world. Director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me (2004)) with producers and fellow geeks: Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, Thomas Tull (The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises)and Harry Knowles (Ain't It Cool News), present us with the definitive look at the biggest yearly pop-culture event. The executive producers of the film include Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Harry Knowles and Gill Champion, so you know it's going to be great!

L to R: Champion, Lee, Knowles, Whedon, Spurlock

The film focuses on the experiences of five individual attendees during San Diego Comic-Con 2010, which includes aspiring artists, costumers, dealers and love-struck fans. The film also features interviews from some of the most important and influential figures in comics and pop-culture like Joss Whedon, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Seth Rogen, Eli Roth and of course Stan Lee! The film was released earlier this year in April to select theaters and is currently available on Pay Per View, On Demand, YouTube, iTunes and is now available on DVD. This is not the first film to give audiences a look into the world of Comic-Con. Back in 2004, Mark Hamill (Star Wars) directed and starred in Comic Book: The Movie. While that film was more of a mockumentary with Mark Hamill playing a devoted comic book fan named Donald Swan, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope is more like a reality show featuring the real-life experiences of these five people.
As you follow their stories, you start to feel for them and empathize with all their hard work, especially with Skip, the struggling artist trying to make it into comics who is repeatedly rejected. The most revealing of the stories is with Chuck Rozanski, the owner of Mile High Comics, the largest comic book dealer in the U.S., who gives us a very eye-opening view of the future trends of Comic-Con: "Even though they have comic in the name of the event, very little of the convention anymore is actually comics." While it's true that Comic-Con was originally about comic books, the convention has become the biggest venue for any and all pop-culture properties and merchandise including blockbuster movies, video games, anime, toys and collectibles.
Costuming and cosplay is also a big part of Comic-Con and the story of the designer, Holly is very interesting as her team creates very unique and impressive costumes from the Mass Effect video game. Some of the craziest moments in the documentary come from following one particular rabid collector who makes a mad-dash for the Hasbro booth to get a hold of the exclusive collectibles such as a rare 18" Galactus figure.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope is a highly entertaining and revealing hour and a half for any fan who's ever been to comic convention. Even if you're not a fan of comics or conventions, this is an interesting look into a world that you may have scoffed at before. Yes, I relate to the people in this film, we are all nerds, geeks, collectors, fanboys alike and it's hard to argue with the hundreds of thousands of attendees that sell-out this convention every year. These fans are the ones who buy movie tickets, video games, toys, collectibles, and even in an economic recession, Comic-Con still thrives and grows. After seeing this documentary, it only makes me want to go to SDCC even more, however, the usual restrictions keep coming up every year such as airfare, hotels, and of course money, that prevents me from attending. Hopefully, I will get to go someday, like a devout pilgrim making the journey to the holy land. When I make it to Comic-Con, I will get down on my knees and thank the comic gods that I have come home! Maybe I'll see you next year at SDCC 2013?

LINKS: Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope Official Website, Comic-Con International Website

DFW WRITERS' CONFERENCE 2012

This weekend was the DFW Writers' Workshop's annual DFW Writers' Conference and it was bigger and better than EVER! It was held at the brand-new Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas. The featured keynote speaker was international best-selling thriller author of The Sigma Force Series: James Rollins. The conference also featured special guests, authors Lori Wilde and Jodi Thomas. Other guests in attendance were several prominent literary agents including Writers House LLC and JABberwocky Literary Agency. Also in attendance were authors and fellow DFW Writers' Workshop members Rosemary Clement-Moore, Russell C. Connor, and A. Lee Martinez who presented a number of classes and panels. This year's theme was "The Changing Face of Publishing". Since our goal has always been to put on the best possible conference, we realize the publishing industry has gone through many changes as well as the rise of self-published authors and small-press agencies. The conference was a great opportunity to meet and mingle with many fellow writers of all genres and experience levels and also to meet and network with literary agencies and publishing companies. I have been a member of the DFW Writers' Workshop for almost 6 years and I've gotta say this was our best conference so far. The venue was huge and perfect for our needs and the classes and agent pitches were very successful too! To my fellow workshop members who helped make this conference great, I am thankful for all your efforts! See ya'll next year!

Follow the DFW Writer's Workshop on Twitter and Facebook, and the DFW Writers' Conference on Twitter and  Facebook

Hurst Conference Center

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2012

This weekend I attended the eighth annual Texas Frightmare Weekend and it was BIGGER and BETTER than EVER! Held at the Hyatt Regency at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, this humble little horror convention has exploded to monumental proportions to accommodate its quickly growing fan base. Last year's convention (See last years blog entry) at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, TX was so packed and crowded but this year had more space, vendors, activities, screenings and guests! Sponsored by the new video game Lollipop Chainsaw and Rue Morge Magazine, 'Texas Frightmare Weekend' 2012 was one of the best conventions ever! Although I didn't get to meet as many of the celebrities and guests that I wanted to but I did however get to meet some very special guests. My favorites were Lisa Marie, Keith David and Norman Reedus. Some of this year's biggest guests were Ernest Borgnine and Piper Laurie. The biggest draw was the Q&A with some of the cast of AMC's The Walking Dead including Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Irone Singleton, Michael Rooker and Madison Lintz. I also got to attend a Q&A with the cast of John Carpenter's They Live reuniting Keith David, Meg Foster, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. This year's convention was so huge and I was blown away by how many guests there were, even more odd choices like Anthony Michael Hall, Clint Howard and even Verne Troyer! One of the many activities at 'Texas Frightmare Weekend' was "Frightmakers 101", a series of panels on various elements of horror including writing, publishing, film making, soundtracks, and F/X.  Some of the special screenings at this years convention were Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, The Victim, and Father's Day. There were so many celebrity guests, collectibles, props, costumes and zombies than one weekend could possibly contain. I can't even imagine how they are going to top it next year!

DALLAS ALL-CON 2012

This weekend was the 8th Annual Dallas ALL-CON! All-Con is one of the largest growing conventions in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, supporting fans of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Anime, Art, Renaissance Faires, Comic Books, Movies, Gaming and much, much more! The convention featured all kinds of celebrity guests, panels, competitions, cosplay, contests, vendors, and workshops! This years' theme of course was The End of the World! (2012!) "Because if it really is the end of the world...go out the All-Con way!" I have been an All-Con attendee since 2006, an independent vendor in 2010 and this year I became a volunteer. The thing I like best about All-Con is it isn't as big as some of the other conventions during the year like A-Kon or AnimeFest and of course Dallas ComicCon. But being a small con also means less crowds, lines and a more personable and fun experience without getting too exhausted.

The best events in All-Con is always the Saturday Costume Contest (I won for my Ghost Rider costume back in 2007!), the Ms. Star Wars Competition and of course the 501st Droid Hunt run by the 501st Star Garrison. The celebrity guests this year included Troy Denning, New York Times Bestselling Author of Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse, voice actor Neil Kaplan, and character actor Camden Toy.
To go along with the End of the World theme All-Con was literally taken over by ZOMBIES! There were many people in zombie make-up and costumes and even a few "heavily-armed" zombie hunters roaming the halls! I especially loved the costumes during the con (you can see some of my pictures from this year's con on my Facebook page) I am always amazed at the level of ingenuity and creativity that goes into so many of the costumes. My favorite has to be one man in a very elaborate costume of Kurt Russell's character (MacReady) from The Thing (1982). As an amateur (VERY amateur!) cosplayer myself, I was very impressed by many of the costumes this year, especially this years Grand Champion winners' World of Warcraft costumes: (See video:)

The only critique I have of this year's All-Con is that I was surprised of the lack of variety of vendors at the con and that every other vendor featured mostly Steampunk paraphernalia (although I do like Steampunk). It varies year to year and usually whatever is popular that year is more prominent. Next year I hope there are more gaming opportunities as well. Other than that it was a great convention and I am looking forward to next year's All-Con! If you enjoy conventions and are into seeing some great costumes or participating in some very special events and can't stand the larger, more crowded conventions, than All-Con is for you. Hope to see ya'll  next year! (Next year's theme is A Fracture In Time!) http://www.all-con.org/ 

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND 2011

TEXAS FRIGHTMARE WEEKEND is the southwest's premiere horror convention for the last six years! I have been an attendee of TFW since 2007. This year's TFW was held again at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, TX and this year's show is the biggest yet! Although I was somewhat disappointed with last years convention since I didn't get to meet the main guest: John Carpenter, I did however meet and get autographs from Lance Henriksen and Meg Foster! This year's special guests included: Clive Barker, Robert Englund, Malcom McDowell, Doug Bradley, Roger Corman, Angus Scrimm, and the cast of Human Centipede and Saw! Like most conventions the big draw is to get autographs from celebrities which has grown into somewhat of a hobby for me as I have collected many signatures over the years. Unfortunately these kind of conventions can be very expensive, not only is there the price of admission, but also the guests often charge anywhere from $20 to $50 just for an autograph and/or photo, then there's the dealers room where you can buy all kinds of merchandise and collectibles. My main objective this year was to obtain an autograph (and/or photo) from Clive Barker and possibly Robert Englund or Malcom McDowell. I found the cost of the entire weekend to be too much ($75) so I only purchased a Saturday ticket online at $30.

Killer Costumes!

TFW 2011 started off Friday night with screenings of Offspring and The Woman. On Saturday morning, Moxley Manor sponsored the annual Zombie Walk which I caught the last of. I arrived at the Sheraton Grand Hotel around 10:30 am and picked up my pre-registered Saturday ticket by the pool. I quickly made my way through the lobby and got in line for Clive Barker's signing. Although I waited in line for almost 2 and 1/2 hours I ran into a few people I knew and saw Norman Reedus and Malcolm McDowell pass by! Finally, I was taken into another room where Clive Barker was seated. They provided many photos, posters, books and DVDs ready to sign and charged $30 - $75, the most expensive being a personalized sketch from him. I had planned on getting my 1st ed. hardback copy of "Cabal" and my 20th Anniversary DVD of Hellraiser signed. I noticed several people brought models of the Hellraiser puzzle box and even the new Blu-ray boxed to get signed. I knew Clive had recently been suffering from throat polyps (although apparently not cancerous, he recently gave up cigars) and found out he had recently recovered from surgery. I must admit it is very disturbing to see him in the condition he was as his health has been declining over several years. Particularly because of his throat problems his once angelic/boyish voice has now been reduced to a gravelly whisper but he seemed in good spirits and was very talkative despite his health. I was very impressed when Doug Bradley (Pinhead) came in the room with a young boy in a homemade Pinhead costume and got autographs and photographed with both Barker and Bradley despite TFW's notice that there was no photography allowed for Barker.

Malcolm McDowell

After Barker, I made my way through the very crowded dealer's room and main lobby where there where several celebrities signing including Sid Haig (The Devil's Rejects), Dieter Laser (Human Centipede), cast of The Boondock Saints, even Japanese horror celebrities Eihi Shiina (Audition) and Yoshihiro Nishimura (Mutant Girls Squad) and of course Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street)! Later I was also very pleased to get autographs from Ashley Laurence (Hellraiser, also NO photographs allowed!?) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) who was extremely nice and approachable. Unfortunately I was unable to get Robert Englund's autograph as TFW has instated a new for of organization. As last years convention was overly crowded the lines being  extremely long TFW instated a new ticket policy, giving out free tickets to signings earlier in the day but for several celebrity signing, ran out of tickets VERY quicly (i.e. Englund and Roger Corman) Other TFW events during the day Q&A sessions with Angus Scrimm (Phantasm), Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Roger Corman (Sharktopus). Although due to Englund's Q&A running long and Corman's scheduled signing, Corman's session was disappointingly cut short. Later that night TFW sponsored screenings of Mutant Girls Squad, Doll Boy and Human Centipede at midnight, with live commentary from Director Tom Six and Dr. Heiter himself: Dieter Laser, which is quite possibly the sickest, most disturbing horror movie ever!
Despite a few minor disappointments and an incredibly crowded (and very hot!) venue, Texas Frightmare Weekend 2011 was a great success and very fun! Although I did not attend Friday or Sunday's events (I missed the Q&A w/ Malvcolm McDowell), Saturday is usually the best and biggest day to go (although the busiest!). I look forward to next year's TFW and as the convention has grown so much, next year's TFW will be held at Hyatt Regency Hotel inside the DFW Airport,m which is a significantly larger venue. I can't wait to hear what special guests will be there next year! I'm hoping for maybe Wes Craven? See ya'll next year!

I Love All-Con!

      On March 12-14 my friend Russell and I procured a booth at this year's All-Con 2010 in Addison, Texas! All-Con is an independent convention for fans of several genres including Science Fiction, Fantasy, Renaissance, Anime, Costuming, Theater/Performing Arts, Mystery, Art, Crafts, Collecting, and Film Making! I have been a patron at All-Con since 2006 as a big fan of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, anime and an occasional costumer (guilty!). After blowing my money on the various collectibles and such for years, I thought it would be a change to become an actual vendor at the con to give a little back (and make some money because I'm broke!) So I teamed up with my best friend and writer Russell C. Connor to run a booth where he would sell his awesome novels for Dark Filament Books and I would sell a multitude of comic books, graphic novels, toys, action figures and collectibles I had been accumulating for years! For three days and a total of 17 hours we got to experience the con much differently than previous years. Since I'm not there as a customer I had to treat this like a job and was unfortunately not able to experience all the things the con had to offer except after the vendor's room was closed but there was plenty afterwards and long into the night! I love the costumes, all the crazy people you meet and even a few celebrities. I myself was able to meet Larry Hama the writer of the Marvel "G.I. Joe" comic books from the 1980's which I grew up collecting. I also got to see the local metal band Urizen awesome! I also got to experience a demo in Female Roller Derby with Assassination City DAMN those girls are hot! All in all I'd say this year was a great convention. I made a little money and had lots of fun, although I lost some sleep and also my health (I have been suffering from bronchitis for weeks now!) but we still managed to run a successful booth. Hope to see you at All-Con 2011 next year!