The fans and the afterlife of Firefly, it's amazing. I mean, it's sort of bigger now then it was five, six years ago when it originally aired. I get calls from my dad in D.C. whose friends are just now coming home and saying, "I just discovered this show called Firefly, and your daughter's in it!" It's like, "Yeah, guys. Get with it. This is a while ago." That show's amazing. And, not unlike Mad Men, I think a lot of people watch Mad Men after the fact. They're going to get the box set. They've got it on iTunes. They discovered it through word of mouth. And, there's so many avenues to see shows now. It's not like the past. I think people will continue to see Firefly. And it will become this little gem… this one season gem. And people will keep hearing about it. I think it's amazing.

But where's the stuff connection? I only link to items about merchandise and products – otherwise I'd never get to sleep – but I did notice this comment towards the end:

IGN: There is so much of an afterlife of comic books and fan fiction for that show. Is it funny for you to hear any of the speculation from fans on what could happen to Saffron, or with her and Mal?

Hendricks: Yeah, I've heard all sorts of ideas people have. And, they've come out with role-playing games and characters. I got sent a Barbie doll that looked like me. And, people come in costume. It's really fun. It's very flattering. It's fun to be a hated villain. That's fun.

The Barbie doll was from me, made by my wife Teresa, to thank Ms. Hendricks for judging the "Sing a Song of Saffron" contest.  Whoo!

OK, that was it. Just braggin'.

Some quick hits: attendance (and traffic) was massive. We got off the highway at 9:50 and got in the building, maybe 1/2 mile away, an hour later. There was a garden show at the same convention center, which certainly didn't help but probably made for some great interactions. The line inside, for those who didn't pre-order, was huge and extended to, I believe, Tampa. We pre-ordered: we scooted in.

Long lines for Adrian Pasdar ("Nathan" from Heroes) and Erica Durance ("Lois Lane" from Smallville). Not so much for Mark Sheppard, his dad W. Morgan Sheppard (a Klingon in Star Trek VI, among many other roles), Adrian Wilkinson ("Livia/Eve" from Xena), the usual Lost in Space folks, Peter Mayhew ("Chewbacca" from Star Wars), assorted folks from Beastmaster, Kyle XY, some of the Who Wants to Be a Superhero group, etc.  Respectable turnout for Kristy Swanson (the movie Buffy) and Jack O'Halloran (the big Kryptonian from Superman II), but everyone had bursts of traffic here and there, I think.

Talked to Mark Sheppard a bit. Very friendly. As instructed (and threatened) I gave him the regards of BlackMarketBeagles guy and my webcomic partner Adam Levermore-Rich and his face lit up. "Oh, I know Adam! We did charity work together. Great guy. I'm a big fan of his." That's it, I need more celebrity friends. We talked about obsessive fans and how fast FOX would sue me if they saw me wearing the Blue Sun shirt I had on, and then I brought out the Badger Barbie, just finished the night before. He loved it, and started showing it off to his dad (at the next table over) and Adrienne Wilkinson (one more down.)

"Adrienne! Look at this!" He held it up.

She held up a packaged Livia/Eve action figure she was currently signing and waved it at him.

"Yeah, but mine's bigger!"

She came over to check it out.

He pointed out that Badger should have a flamingo pin, but otherwise it was great. I got my pics, collected the Barbie and the posters I put down and everything else and moved on.

Wandered the creator alleys looking for people whose work I had brought to be signed, including Joe Quesada, John Romita Jr., Laura Martin, Mark Waid, and others. Found most of them but at the time lines were too long — the line for John Romita Jr. stretched across two more aisles) so I gave 'em a miss. Mark Waid signed my "Kingdom Come" comics and accepted my stuttering praise, and I bought a sketchbook from Amanda Conner since she's already signed everything of hers I had from previous cons. I never did find Laura Martin despite constant searching — stopped a man carrying large prints of the first Serenity comic covers who pointed where she was and I still couldn't find her, which should give you an idea of either how crowded it was or how incompetent I am, take your pick.

My son called me to hand over his signed Badger pic for me to carry, and I took everything all the way out to the car so I could concentrate on photos, when I realized that in the hassle of collecting all my stuff before I had forgotten to take my autographed Mark Sheppard pic! I zoomed back in the convention, fought through the crowds (this was hours later, I just knew he'd be gone for the day or something) and got to his table where he was explaining to a fan why American Idol was a more brilliant show than Stargate (I came in late on this, but it sounded like he was talking ratings, and not necessarily quality). I didn't want to interrupt so I stood off to the side. Without breaking the conversation he reached under the table, produced my signed pic, handed it over, shook my hand, and grinned at me. I'm now a bigger Mark Sheppard fan than I was before, which ain't easy.

The panel for Adrian Pasdar had lines waiting a half hour earlier so I gave that a miss. Talked to a lot of artists, browsed the booths, and took tons of photos. Mostly I was there to see Sheppard and to let my 15-year-old son James and his friend Morgan and Peyton experience a big con. I also handed out some con flyers for SaveHiatus, you know, as long as I was there… Waited for and attended the Webcomic Awards to see what was popular in my new field, and two favorites won the big ones: "Girl Genius" by Phil and Kaja Foglio won Best Writer and Outstanding Webcomic, and "The Perry Bible Fellowship" won Best Artist. Also there were bellydancers. Not sure why.

Mostly I took pictures, and you can head to my Flickr.com account to see 'em. Sorry I can't offer a better in-depth review than this, I went purely as a casual tourist this time. In the meantime, here's a closer pic of the Badger Barbie:

Been a while since Teres made a new Firefly Barbie, but I think it was worth the wait. Here's Patience just before confronting Mal over a minor negotiation.

She started life as a Happy Family Grandma but apparently times have been rough. She's had to make some adjustments, got a new attitude, made some new and heavily armed friends, and that's why she's running that little world.

Of course, she still has to deal with the occasional smuggler and ruffian, but there's ways to handle that sort of person and still keep the moneys you started with as long as you keep your head and don't let things get out of hand…

Better pics coming, as soon as I get time during daylight hours.

I'll warn you ahead of time, they aren't for sale. Sorry.

I tend to get caught up in good TV shows, fiction, and movies. My wife loves artwork, crafts, and sewing. Both of us tend to throw ourselves headfirst into whatever we're currently interested in. Last year our obsessions meshed: Teres started making me Firefly Barbies.

Each is handmade, with repainted (and, in some cases, resculpted) faces. She changed the hair on a few, and combed the Internet and the local toy shops for clothing and accessories. Next to our bed (on her side) is a massive heap of plastic weaponry, tiny little outfits, itty bitty jewelry, and assorted body parts. By this point it would be pretty much impossible to describe all the sources of the bits, but I'll add 'em if I know 'em. Here's who's finished, click the images for a closer view.

First up is our captain, Malcolm Reynolds. Basically a Ken doll with attitude, he also sports brown boots, shirt, and his familiar coat. A gun belt and holster hang below his leather suspenders, and he carries his service pistol (more or less). His hair was transplanted, trimmed, and dyed, and his nose was very slightly narrowed for that flared Fillion look.

Next to him is the lovely and lethal YoSaffBridge. Even Barbie's impressive attributes had to be augmented ("Whoa! Flesh!") and her simple shift conceals a heart of, well, flint.

Then we have the happy couple of Zoe and "Wash" Washburne. Zoe was once a Cali Girl Barbie before she joined the Independents, and is seen here with her shirt, vest, belt, holster, pants, boots, necklace, knife, and dogleg shotgun.

Once a "World Peacekeeper of the 21st Century" doll, Wash's head and hair were completely resculpted to more closely resemble our favorite pilot. He sports a jumpsuit, Hawaiian shirt, sneakers, and a tiny plastic dinosaur.

The man they call Jayne was also a World Peacekeeper doll before Teres got ahold of him and redid his face, added a handmade Blue Sun shirt, pants, boots, and enough plastic weapons to choke a My Little Pony doll (including Vera, made out of several other guns and some other parts). His cunning hat was a Maggie Burns special, bought and paid for. She's no longer making them but the patterns to make your own are available at her site.

Next to him is Kaylee. Not sure which Barbie, she was picked up in a tube of three dolls from Big Lots. Dyed and cut hair, repainted face, flowery shirt, jumpsuit, belt, boots, and a wrench completed her.

Say hello to the Tams. River, previously a generic Barbie, now has distressed and dyed hair, repainted face, homemade dress, combat boots, and a big ol' honking gun. We also have a bloody axe (from a KISS figure) to add, when appropriate.

Her brother Simon, a former Disney character of some sort, is styling with snazzy black shoes, a dress shirt and slacks from a Donald Trump doll — nothing but the best here — and a Teresa-made vest. There was a previous version but even after modifications he was a bit too swarthy and wild-haired for our doctor. He also has a stethoscope and operating apron for emergencies (not pictured).

Companion Inara Serra was once an Native American Princess Barbie before she was repainted (slightly) and reworked. Her dress came from eBay, Teres made and/or reworked her wrap, shoes, and belt. Her necklace was a thrift store find.

Inset is a pic of Inara having a heated discussion with Mal. The fact that she's holding his weapon should in no way be considered indicative of what the Firefly Barbies do when no one's looking.

Shepherd Book took the longest out of the main crew, mostly due to the Mattel Corporation's pathetic lack of any grey-haired African-American dolls with wise eyes and a moustache. No weapons, but he does have a bible ready to hand for when he walks the worlds a while.

She finally redid the hair from scratch and made do just in time for Ron Glass to see it at the FX Con. She still has hopes of making one with Exploding Hair Action (TM). Maybe the next one.

Here's Nandi from "Heart of Gold," resplendant in the finest fashions this moon has to offer; a handmade top and a reworked skirt, with added jewelry. No clue which Barbie she was originally, but she's had her hair and face redone anyway.

Teres has hopes for more guest stars — currently hunting around for a G.I. Joe-sized bowler hat for Badger, and we gotta have hands of blue guys, and then there's Early, and Monty, and Patience, and and and…

Updated 2/15: She finished the Joss doll. Life is good.

The Boss has been pretty heavily modified and comes nattily dressed in khakis, a T-shirt, and long-sleeve shirt, with on-location hiking shoes. 

Barbie Joss also comes with director's chair, camera, clapboard, and the Oscar he won for Best Picture in a dream I once had.

The Hero of Canton was a happy accident.

He started out life as Jayne Mark One, but some problems with his head caused him to be set aside for parts. Then we saw some Fleck Stone stone finish spray paint, and inside our heads a hundred mudders cried for a hero.

This happens more often than you'd think.

Last Christmas she surprised me with an unexpected one: me. Complete with receding hairline, glasses, facial hair, paunch, Whedon's Bitch T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, a Palm Pilot, and a cellphone, I feel she has captured the essential me, except for one thing. No Teres doll. Plans are already afoot.

She has no plans to make these for sale; each one takes a fair bit of work and she can't really remember where she got all the bits. If you're interested in trying your own, check for customizing sites with tutorials like OOAK Fashion Dolls. We found a gun fairly close to Mal's at Marxman Armory (the 1860 Army Colt), more vintage weaponry at the Toysmith, and an excellent list to sites that sell loose G.I. Joe stuff at Six of One. Clothing, jewelry, and shoes were found in thrift stores, on eBay, or handmade.

To repaint a face, you should first remove the one that's there (either the bit you want to change or the whole thing, which looks really creeepy) with non-acetone fingernail polish remover as over time the acetone will damage the plastic. It's also more work, so Teres used acetone. Wash the faces in soapy water afterwards. Facial features can be "adjusted" with sandpaper (start with heavy grit and go finer as the doll gets smoother), X-acto knives, and Dremel tools. Scarred and horrific figures display our learning curve here. There are different types of modeling paste to use to add or build up features that will dry white, sand smooth, take a paint well, and blend nicely into the doll's skin. Teres used Sculpy modeling clay. Paint should be acrylic and mixed with thinner. 

Then, it takes practice. And patience. And a good light. And steady hands. And an obsessive nature. According to Teres she has the obsessive nature and more or less faked the rest. But I have my Firefly cast (almost)!

My sons and I arrived almost an hour early (we weren't sure how the autograph lines would work). Lots of people were lining up quickly outside the doors and I was happy to see how many people were wearing Firefly shirts. We saw one woman in a River outfit that was perfect from the back and darn close from the front, and there was a family there with a Simonized boy in a vest and a girl in a jumpsuit that could have been Zoe or Kaylee (I didn't ask). There was also a blonde guy in a Hawaiian shirt and orange jumpsuit walking around that made a fair Wash.

Inside was chaos. There was some vague organization but there were just too many people crammed into too small a room. And it wasn't a small room. We did a quick run through the dealer's area here, or at least as fast as we could go considering just getting a few steps in a row was an accomplishment.

The South building had guest areas on either end — putting the horror guests on one end and the other TV and movie stars on the other was an excellent idea, I thought — and we headed directly to the Serenity corner where autographs were due to begin at 11. The stars from Happy Days, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), David Carradine, and a few others showed up early, which just made it funnier when the lines for Alan and Summer stretched farther and farther out. Finally the con people handed out tickets to people in line so we could be called when it was time and thus not have to wait in line forever.

And then we waited anyway. For one thing I ran into FireflyFal, laden with her Browncoat ribbon pins and lanyards, doing a brisk business. We hung around and talked for a bit. Summer and Alan showed up on time (to applause) and soon we were back in line. Autographs were $25 each and you received your choice of several photos to have signed (you could get your own stuff signed, of course; it was still $25 per). Alan had one Wash pic, two "Dodgeball" pics, a "Sonny" pic from "I, Robot," and a Firefly cast pic.

Alan was wearing a Serenity T-shirt and looked like, well, Wash. I told him my wife didn't want to come because she would have thrown herself on him and screamed "Wash!" We'd had some words for Mr. Whedon after the movie. Alan chuckled and said he did, too. "But yours was 'ow,'" I said, and he laughed and posed with me.

Summer was wearing a light dress and was there with (I believe) her sister. The pics offered at her table were one promo pic of River from "Firefly," two from "Serenity," and a glamour portait head shot. She's not nearly as crazy looking in person (or else she hides it better than River) and is, in fact, lovely (see pic above). She signed my picture and signed my wife's as River — my request, as Teres identifies strongly with River. Summer laughed and looked mock-alarmed, then said, "Well, that could be good…"

While I was talking to her Alan loudly responded to something someone else asked with "But it's really her fault." Summer looked at him, puzzled, and he continued, "Somebody sees the future, did she tell me to duck? No!"

"I wanted your seat!" Summer said, laughing.

"You wanted my job!" Alan said. Now everyone within earshot was laughing. He turned back to sign, shaking his head. "I can't talk to her."

When I got out of the lines I met up with FireflyGal who was talking to the River-lookalike, and I got pictures. My Blue Sun shirt got happy nods from passing fans, and my son's Jayne hat got a lot of attention. Only afterwards did it occur to me to question the wisdom of walking up to River wearing a Blue Sun shirt.

We spent the next couple of hours working our way through the con. Think of a flea market opening up inside a NYC subway and you've got the general idea. We saw a powerful amount of stuff, mostly Star Wars, Magic cards, and comics, but no matter what your geeky interest is there was something there for you. Except Serenity cards, apparently. I went hunting but found no love. Lori Anne Brown, a friend who's been selling science fiction and fantasy-related merchandise at local cons for over a decade, had some basic sets (and action figures, Joss-signed comics, and a UK poster signed by the cast she's giving away from her website) but no boxes. I was distraught. There was a lot of commerce going on so I suspect others were luckier than I was.

I also ran into ShinyHappyKlin and her husband (of Out to the Black Outfitters) who were ready with T-shirts, jewelry, and more for dazed Browncoats walking away from the lines. She's seen here in her Prudence guise, holding a signed print from Jason Palmer who had stacks and displays of his incredible work on display in the autograph area.

I talked to him for a bit while he was rolling up my purchase (right, like you could have resisted). He told me about the lack of reference photos Universal sent for his licensed portraits but praised online Firefly fans who helped him out with pics whenever he needed them. Jason also did the art for the cover of the FX 2006 Show program. Very nice guy, very personable, and he clearly loves the characters.

Other guests included some of the stars of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (and there were more than a few Potter fans there), Cindy Williams from "Laverne and Shirley" (I assume, I never actually saw her), Priscilla Barnes and Joyce DeWitt from "Three's Company," "Jody and "Cissy" from "Family Affair," author Timothy Zahn, Corin Nemic from Stargate SG-1, and a pile of hot ladies from Playboy, Penthouse, and assorted softcore and hardcore magazines/calendars/movies.

It is worth noting that, attractive as those ladies were (or were trying to be), Summer blew them all away. I think the lack of silicone and handfuls of makeup helped. Just sayin'.

I'm not a horror fan so I can't tell you much about the horror guests there, but friends who were fans were happy. People were lined up for George A. Romero ("Dawn of the Dead," "Day of the Dead," Weekend of the Dead," whatever), Robert Englund ("Freddy" from the "Nightmare" films), Tony McGraw ("Michael Myers" from "Halloween"), Richard Brooker ("Jason" from "Friday the 13th"), and assorted other horror movie actors.

The comic book guest of honor was Jerry Robinson, known for his excellent Golden Age Batman work. He was in the North building along with two more rows of comics creators and, of course, about a million more dealers and five million more fans. In the Media building was an anime screening with gaming going on in the back.

There were a couple of concession stands selling hot dogs, burgers, Polish sausage, and fries at fairground prices. It was a gorgeous day; we sat out in the shade and tried to ignore the shooting back and leg pains.

Panels were mentioned at the FX website but there was no mention of any at the con. There was an anime costume contest that was to be held at Hard Rock Orlando later on, and that was pretty much it. Since there wasn't much left to do besides shop more, we headed home.

According to fans who showed up, both Summer and Alan were at the costume contest at Hard Rock Orlando as judges. Only one Firefly-themed entry entered, a woman dressed as Zoe in her white dress (where was the fake Wash?), but she made it to finalist. Our BDHs asked a few questions, got some laughs, and at least Summer hung around to chat (haven't heard about Alan). The pic to the right is of my son James (in the hat) with a wonderful teenage Mal in a detail-perfect costume we ran into Sunday.

We went back the next day and brought along the Firefly Barbie dolls my wife has been making so I could get pictures with the stars. Reaction was positive.

I pulled out the Wash doll and Alan did a doubletake. "Oh, my God… That's great!" He immediately leaped up to stalk Summer with it, who was standing a few feet away talking to her sister. He let the doll Wash creep up her arm and then tapped her with it when she ignored him. After she turned around Doll Wash did a happy dance on her shoulder.

When he came back I showed him the River doll, whereupon Doll Wash (still in Alan's hands) leaped on Doll River and dragged her behind the table to the delight of the people behind me in line and to unsuspecting Wash/River shippers everywhere. When things calmed down he heaped praise on Teres' design and posed for photos.

Summer gave her doll a delighted reception. "Ahh! That is so cool! Ooohh…" She played with her doll self for a few minutes and posed for photos before turning to her sister. "Look! A River doll!" They gave it back somewhat reluctantly.

She also recognized James from yesterday, which made him inordinately smug for an hour or so afterwards. I'm not entirely sure his feet were touching the ground for the first few steps away, there.

While Teres' dolls aren't for sale — she loves creating them, but would get bored and annoyed trying to mass-produce them — there's an open offer to any of the cast who want their own doll, just let us know (or have your publicist let us know, anyway).

And watch out, rest of the cast. Your plastic dopplegangers await…

I was disappointed in the lack of anything besides autographs and merchandise, but meeting Alan and Summer was worth it and if I didn't have these pesky mortgage and food bills I could have happily spent days in the dealer rooms. Not bad.

Also, Teres surprised me Christmas morning with a doll I didn't know she was working on… me.

She was far too kind to my hairline for it to be a true resemblance but I definitely wasn't expecting it. She said originally my gut was more modest but my sons helpfully added stuffing until it approached reality. There's also a book in one hand and a cellphone in the other.

Problem is, now I need a Teresa doll and that could be tricky. Maybe she could load up the putty on a Skipper doll…

Getting scary. Also, the pile of doll parts and G.I. Joe accessories on her side of the bed is getting higher and higher…