Posts Tagged ‘cons’

And so ends another wild weekend of scantily-clad women in bizarre costumes.

What? No, Bike Week is still going strong. I meant MegaCon, the annual science fiction convention in Orlando. Thousands of fans of science fiction TV shows and movies and comic books and Japanese anime, gathered together to put on costumes, meet their heroes, and buy stuff. And they did, in brightly-colored droves.

Cosplay (which sounds way better than "dressing up as") is huge at cons when fans take their opportunity to become the hero — or villain, or animal or yummy snack — they've always wanted to be, and with a lot more ingenuity than the old rubber pointy ears shtick.

They take their work seriously, they do, and their costumes often are intricate works of professional-quality art. But what if you're a beginner fan? Never fear! Cosplaying is only as complicated as you want to make it, and I have some handy tips to get you started.

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The guest list for the 20th annual FX con, one of the area's biggest pop culture conventions, has been announced:

James Marsters - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Smallville, Dragonball and Torchwood
Julie Benz – Dexter, Buffy, Angel, Rambo 4 and one of the Punisher movies
Lindsay Wagner – Bionic Woman (the good one)
Ray Park – GI Joe, Star Wars (prequel) and X-Men
Mark Goddard – Lost in Space

Going to an FX con is like going to several different cons at the same time (and in the same building, all using the same bathrooms). While the celebrity guests are signing autographs and posing for pictures, comic book fans are meeting famous guest writers and artists, horror fans are buying up memorabilia, doll and stuffed bear fans are doing whatever doll and stuffed bear fans do, and the rest are busy cosplaying, gaming or just trying to get by for the golf convention in the next wing. It's a madhouse, and a fun one.

This year they're also launching a celebrity poker challenge. According to the release: "The FX Celebrity Poker Challenge is a charitable event with 100% of the net proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society and other related organizations. Dealers will consist of FX guest celebrities, local celebrities, comic book professionals and tournament staff. The celebrity dealers will rotate from table to table, allowing all players an opportunity to meet them." Meaning you'll have to keep your poker face on while various vampires and Lords of the Sith loom over you. Watch those tells!

FX 2009 is later in the year this year, running April 17th-19th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.  Get more details at the FX Web site.

I dunno how Creation Entertainment seems to get this stuff before anyone else – often months before it shows up in retail stores – but they do, and they did again. Now at their store, just in time for this year's Salute to Firefly and Serenity, are more cool new stuff.

There's a nicely done Serenity ship shirt that's sure to turn some heads, a Blue Sun shot glass (for when you're not yet drunk enough to drink from the bottle), and a Blue Sun frosted shooter (for when you almost are). Head to the Creation store to check them out, as well as lots of stuff (and autographed pictures!) from previous cons.

And don't miss the con itself, which features Jewel Staite, Ron Glass, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and a very rare appearance by Gina Torres. Plus you get entertainment from our own Sing a Song of Saffron contest winner, Marian Call. It doesn't get any better than that, legally. Nov. 22-23, in Burbank, CA.

Welcome to MegaCon

Originally uploaded by CABridges

Hey, one of my con pics was chosen to illustrate Schmap's page on the Orange County Convention Center.

Which means that people from around the world, hungry for travel information, will gaze upon my skilled photographic handiwork as they devise their itinerary and think: "Huh. A comic convention."

If you're going to the San Diego Comic-Con, you might save some time and just go to the California Browncoats table and give them all your money. If you're in the market for a Firefly or Serenity item, they'll have it there. UPDATE: Plus the four official Dr. Horrible T-shirts!

I'm not exaggerating, either. Check out the list at their SDCC page. All the books, all the DVDs, all the shirts and comics and licensed material from QMx and Dark Horse and all the great stuff from Out to the Black Outfitters and stuff to benefit charities like Equality Now (Joss' favorite), Kids Need to Read (Nathan's group) and St. Jude's Children’s Research Hospital (Mark Sheppard's charity of choice). They'll even provide you with a shopping list to take with you, to make things easier.

They'll also have con exclusives, like the limited edition Serenity: Better Days #1 with special variant cover we discussed earlier and copies of The Guild DVD.

And they'll have guests and signings from PJ Haarsma (author of The Softwire series and co-founder of Kids Need to Read), Felicia Day (of "Buffy," "The Guild," and "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"), the cast of "The Guild," Adam Levermore-Rich (fan-favorite browncoat artist and my partner in SaveHiatus.com), and Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta (authors, Young Jedi Knights series and many more).

Plus contests, giveaways, a Jayne hat flash mob (shhh, it's a secret!) and more! Check out their SDCC page for more info, and go find them at the same place they were last year, at tables A7/A8 in Hall A at the back of Aisle 300. Go say hi!

MegaCon in Orlando was this weekend (and is still, technically, going on) and I spent Saturday at it, but I won't be able to give you much of a report as most of the panels I was interested in were too busy to get near. But I did get to meet Mark ("Badger") Sheppard who was, as many of you told me, a great guy. He's pictured here, holding the Badger Barbie made by my wife Teresa.

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.

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In case you missed it, I've updated my journal of last weekend's FX Show in Orlando with Nathan Fillion and lots of other celebs, with descriptions and photos and video.

Yes, video.

Of Nathan.

Being Nathan.

Every year, the FX Show in Orlando assembles together a pile o' celebs, a ton of comic writers and artists, and an assortment of dealers and shoves 'em into a room. Every year they get guests from the hottest new shows and the most beloved older ones, cult favorites that bring out devoted fans from all generations. And every year they get someone from Firefly who blows all the others away.

If you're not interested in my play-by-play you can just check out the pics at Flickr.com. And I've got video of the Whedonverse Panel with Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Rohm, and Nicholas Brendon here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4.
If you are interested, read on…

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The event we’ve been waiting for all year has finally arrived! This weekend will be filled with partying, thousands of large people in similar T-shirts, autograph hunting, the purchasing of many collectibles, a certain amount of beer, and the eager fascination in seeing celebrities up close.

What? No, not the Rolex 24. I’ll be over at FX Show 2008, the science fiction/horror convention in Orlando, where my inner geek can breathe freely. (My inner geek looks exactly like my outer geek, but with more movie tie-in buttons.)

Science-fiction conventions or "cons" are not just for social outcasts or dangerously introverted 37-year-old bachelors, of course. That's just a cliche perpetuated by people who have gone to a convention. It’s very much like a trade show when the trade in question is imagination, and scantily clad alien girls. It’s a place where fans of TV, movies, books, and comics can gather together with the people who create them, along with a massive roomful of fellow fans who share their interests and are ready to violently argue about them in an entertaining manner.

If you've never been to a con, here's a quick rundown of what you can expect.

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Creation Entertainment has announced their "Salute to Firefly and Serenity" convention, to be held November 22-23, 2008, at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel. 

So far they have Jewel Staite lined up to guest, but I'd expect plenty more before they're through.

They've also got some more stuff in their store I hadn't seen, including a Serenity cappucchino mug, a pile of patches, and a Serenity Icons tee (pictured), and more than a few autographed photos for sale (autographs currently have free shipping).