I went to FanX in Salt Lake City, UT and had an amazing time! Since a friend lives in the area, I always get hooked up with free room and board, which is always great. My friend and I got to meet Mike Colter, who plays Luke Cage, and he was really cool. He let us take multiple pics with him. I was in-costume as Morpheus, and we took a cool photo, so I'll throw it up on Instagram at some point. We met Clark Gregg from Agents of SHIELD who was pretty cool, although because of long lines, there wasn't much time for a personal interaction. We met Tony Todd who was all kinds of AWESOME and completely down to Earth! I wish I had something for him to sign, but couldn't find anything, sadly. We got a cool photo with him. I didn't realize how tall he is. Dude is a legit 6'5"! By chance, we ran into Garrett Wang from Star Trek Voyager, who was REALLY cool! The show was wrapping up and he was walking with his handler, so I greeted him and expressed my frustration of how he continually got screwed on the show, and apparently, he shared the same frustration. He was quite animated about it, too! After a brief chat, he let my friend and I take a free selfie with him! That was one of my highlights of the show! We got to meet Pom Klementieff from Guardians of the Galaxy and she was nice, but suffering from laryngitis and couldn't speak. She let us take multiple photos with her, which was really cool. There are a great deal of celebs who designate a handler to take photos, and they usually take one, and if it's blurry, you're SOL. Fortunately, that wasn't the case at this show. The main reason for me attending this show was because Lynda Carter, the original Wonder Woman was in attendance. She had been on my bucket list for YEARS and I finally got the opportunity to meet her. You had to purchase a SuperFan package that included two concert tickets, a photo-op, Q&A session and a signed picture of her. The concert was nice, although it ran a bit long. I didn't know that Lynda had pipes. She brought along her incredibly attractive daughter who is also a signer (and a practicing attorney) to perform with her. The Q&A was cut short because the concert ran long, so only a few fans could ask questions. The photo-op was right after the Q&A session, so she sat in a chair while people took photos with her. This part was disappointing because during the ops, she didn't really greet or acknowledge anyone. She just sort of sat there apathetically and smiled for the photo; it was kind of like she was propped up like Weekend at Bernies while her mind was elsewhere. There were massive amounts of fans who had photo-ops, so there was no time for a personal interaction or to say anything to her besides "hi" and "bye." We were herded in and out like cattle on a ranch. "NEXT!" *Click* "NEXT!" *Click* For me, it ended up being a hollow meet and greet. On one hand, I got a photo with her, which is what I've always wanted, but on the other, I didn't get to tell her that I was a big fan and how much I loved her portrayal of Wonder Woman, so the feeling was kind of empty, like taking a photo with a statue. Besides the aforementioned, the show was great and the cosplay was amazing! I just wish that I had time to catch a panel or two, but that's difficult when you're constantly waiting in line for autographs and photo-ops. For the 4th straight show, I didn't buy any toys, which I guess is a good thing (because I have enough crap), but there were a great many vendors with a wide variety of merchandise. I found a vendor who makes jerseys and being a big fan, I managed to pick out a Marvel Hydra jersey. I saw this vendor in Seattle at ECCC about 5 years ago with the jersey, but they didn't have my size. 5 years later, I finally found it! I'll post it in the jersey thread. Overall, I would highly recommend this show. The price for admission is good (besides tax and service fees) and the guest list is absolutely out of this world! Best of all, there are no asinine lotteries for autographs and panels. I just wish that more mainstream comic artists and writers were invited. I love to get sketches at these shows, but they mostly had local artists and writers. Still, that didn't deter from how amazing this show is. We met a ton of cool people and made a bunch of new friends! The only real bummer is that because FanX is in Utah, there's no show on Sunday. *shrug*
Waiting to see who will be attending Wizard World in Sacramento before committing, I've started planning for Celebration 2020. I remember bitching about con prices twenty years ago and now those prices seem like a steal.
WW Sacramento? IF it isn't cancelled... Sacramento rarely gets good guests, and when they do, they typically cancel at the last minute. I kind of stopped attending their shows because of it. While they refund pre-purchased photo-ops and signatures, you're stuck attending the show as there's no refunds for badges. One show I attended saw 3 of the people cancel that I wanted to meet. After that, I was done with WW. Just out of curiosity, I checked the guest list and not one person has committed. That's not a good sign, especially considering the show is only 4 months out.
Thanks for all the information because that's something I'd seriously take into account when deciding if I want to attend or not.
I forgot to set a reminder about the sale and missed it, therefore missing out on Saturday, so I decided not to buy Friday and Sunday. I recently checked and Friday and Saturday are both sold out on the site. It says that you can buy tickets at the door for a higher cost, but I'm not sure if the convention center will reach capacity and they deny badge sales at the door. I've never been to Celebration, so I don't know how that works. What reeks about this is that Celebration is on the same weekend as DragonCon in ATL and FanExpo in Toronto.
Just ordered this in my own custom size to go with my Ironman Helmet - have a pair of IM repulser gloves on the way - need to figure out way to hard wire to powerbank and way to toggle on/off from wrist/thumb. Also having a custom made black neck seal done up when I wear the helmet. Need to find a small black tactical fannypack to store extra batteries, screwdriver, phone wallet and foldable backpack.
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be at Silicon Valley Comic Con (along with Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Michael Biehn, Kristanna Loken, Jenette Goldstein and Danny Cooksey) for a Terminator series reunion in San Jose, CA on August 16-18th. I was already planning on going for Morena Baccarin but not sure if I can swing the $450(!) for the Guvernator's autograph
...and that's ONLY for an autograph. If you want a photo-op too, it'll be a cool $900. I don't like any celebrity that much. If I got with five friends and we split it, that would be somewhat digestible. In other news, Santa Clara Toy Expo in August has been postponed until Feb. 2020. Peter Cullen and Frank Welker were scheduled to be at this show. http://bayareatoyexpo.com/
Just went to StocktonCon yesterday, met and got an autograph from Femi Taylor who was Oola (memorably fed to the Rancor after displeasing Jabba the Hutt) from Return of the Jedi. Also saw George Newbern again who was Superman from Justice League Unlimited. Didn't stay too long, weather was hot and I had to get back to SF for the cooling fog and a Pokemon Go event Looking forward to Silicon Valley Comic Con (Terminator reunion) and Crunchyroll Expo (both in San Jose) later this month. It's really too bad Bay Area Toy Expo (Peter Cullen and Frank Welker) was postponed but that'll free up alot of funds for Haslab Unicron!
I, too, was at StocktonCon over the weekend and had a pretty good time. I got to meet Kurt Angle, got a pop signed and a photo with him. He looked like he was in pretty rough shape and seemed to be out of it mentally; he was probably on meds. He never even stood up. All of those matches probably took their toll on him. I didn't cosplay because it was too freaking hot, and I really don't have any cool weather costumes. It was over 100 degrees on both days, so I just took on a photographer role for my cosplay page. While I was watching my friend's booth, A guy walked up to me and asked if I cosplayed last year and then told me that I was an inspiration for him getting into cosplay. That felt good as it was nice to be recognized since male cosplayers don't really receive attention unless they're armor builders. Silicon Valley Comic Con should be huge in a couple of weeks! Stone Cold Steve Austin has never made an appearance out here, so that should be big! The Gotham guests will be big, too! I'd like to do the Terminator reunion, but they're asking prices are out of my comfort zone, so I'll just stick to the panels.
Went to Silicon Valley ComicCon over the weekend and had a really good time. I got photos with Morena Baccarin, Jason Momoa, Kristanna Loken and Stone Cold Steve Austin, and had him sign my Funko Pop. Austin was really cool and engaging with the fans. For pics, he was giving his trademark middle finger with people, which was hilarious! I wish SVCC had organized their lines a bit better. After the debacle that was last year, I thought they would have learned. I had ops with Morena and Jason that were within 10 minutes of each other on the redemption ticket that they provided and both lines were extremely long. I expressed my concerns with the staff who insisted that Momoa would be around a while and he was, but I didn't need the added stress of wondering if I would get through for my op. I only attended Morena's panel which was really informative and fun. That woman is flawless! The cosplay was creative, there was a wide variety and 10x better than what SDCC offered. The only real damper is that some asshole stole my autographed picture of Kristanna Loken. I was there as an exhiibtor, so towards the end on Sunday, I was helping my friend pack up, so we placed some of our things on the information booth area. While our backs were turned, some asshat walked off with it, but left everything else. It was personalized, signed and made out to me! It was only middle-aged exhibitors who were in the center at this point, so it had to be some old pervert. I hope he drowns in the bathtub. I can't believe someone would do such a thing!
I was also at Silicon Valley Comic Con and had a good time as well. Got Morena's autograph and photo with her on Friday, went for Robert Patrick and Kristanna Loken on Saturday and Sunday was the big Arnold Schwarzeneggar signing (didn't go for a photo op with him, too pricey)! Was tempted to go for Stone Cold and Jason Momoa but decided to use the funds for Arnold. Just a small hiccup for me and several attendees during the Robert Patrick signing where his helper said she was not equpped to scan our QR codes (people paying cash were fine), so that took a little while to resolve and some back and forth but ultimately it got worked out. Sorry to hear about some lowlife stealing your Kristanna Loken photo, her prices were very reasonable so it''s astonishing that a jerk would be so cheap and pathetic as to grab another fan's personalized photo
Thanks, man. I still can't believe that someone would do such a thing. Now, I have to hope to see her at another show to recover the autograph. Everyone had already left the facility, so there were only exhibitors there packing up and walking the floor. Right before this happened, some guys came by and saw our things and started fingering through them, so we had to tell them, "That's our stuff!" I'm not really angry about it, but just saddened and disappointed in humanity that someone would be such a douche. I, too, had a hiccup with my QR code, but for Stone Cold. Since I was an exhibitor, I got in early and purchased an autograph using my credit card and they gave me a QR code via email. A friend who was also there, but had to leave early wanted an autograph too, so he gave me the cash and a figure for him to sign, so I paid for that with cash. When it came time for me to redeem my QR code, the scanner said that I had already redeemed it! (WTF?!?) Basically, the lady at the table accused me of trying to get 2 for 1. After trying to explain that I paid separately with two different payment methods, the manager came up, didn't want to argue and just gave me a ticket. We have to meet up one of these days. We're at all the same shows. I think Wizard World is next month in Sacramento and it was just announced that Jason Momoa is supposed to be there. He's getting his money while he's hot. It looks like they're trying to do a Charmed reunion. If they get Alyssa Milano, I'm all-in. As of right now, probably not, at least until they announce more guests. Wizard World Comic Con There's supposed to be another WW in Oakland in November as well. Too bad Heroes and Villains won't be back in CA. Like WW, it was a celebrity cash grab, but I always enjoy getting autographs and photo-ops.
If I knew early that you were exhibiting at the show I would have made sure to stop by and say hi! I only went through the dealer room on Friday, the rest of the weekend I just got autographs and left early. Glad it worked out for you with the Stone Cold signing. For Arnold I made sure to check in first with the staff before lining up and it's good that I did because the QR code printout had to be exchanged for yet another ticket for the signing. They didn't even let us keep that ticket as a souvenir even though it had a detachable stub, they claimed they were going to re-use it but that's bogus since it had the date on it I did take a picture of it. Haha Alyssa Milano would be a great incentive for me as well to attend Wizard World, their website for the Bay Area show still shows no guests Was wondering about Heroes and Villains, it was an ok show last year, was happy with the autos and photos I got. I'm thinking about LA Comic Con in October but it's looking more likely I will skip it this year and go to the more local show of Sinister Creature Con in Sacramento that same weekend for Tony Todd and Traci Lords.
