Hey everybody!!!
I just got back home from attending my first comic convention!!! Jason took me to Wizard World Texas in Arlington, TX this weekend.
It all came together rather quickly and we weren't prepared like we should've been. LOL.
Jason had NO clue as to what we were going to be experiencing, however that changed once we got there.
ALL I have to say is thank God for GPS systems. LOL. Or we might not have found the convention hall. We're not overly familiar with Dallas and the surrounding suburbs.
We got there somewhat early that first day and got checked in. While we were waiting for the computer to come back online, we both seen this guy walking into the exhibitors hall wearing clown makeup. We both chuckled and Jason said "Who the hell is that supposed to be." I just looked at him and laughed.
Jason got us both VIP tickets and I couldn't wait to get my hands on our goodie bags!!!! Jason got the ToyFare package and I got the one with the comics. They had some cool comics that came with our packages.
We weren't in the mood to tote those bags around all day, so we took them to the car. And sat down for a minute.
We went back inside and I just felt like a kid in a candy store. Looking at all the comics and just being around other people who enjoy them as much as I do.
Poor Jason, on the other hand, was bored senseless!!! I'd glance up from searching through boxes of comics to see him just looking around and then I overheard him tell his sister that we were in a big comic book store. LOL. He was beginning to bring me down and make it an unfun experience.
So we walked around and went over to Artist's Alley where they spotlight upcoming and established artists who are selling prints and doing sketches. Jason started talking to this guy who was sketching and he bought this killer print of The Family Guy doing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" with all the characters dressed as the characters from the film.
The artist also informed Jason that he'd do a personal piece for him if he could think of anything he'd like for him to draw when Jason said "The Oblongs."
That's when he told Jason that he was acquaintences with Angus Oblong and then he informed Jason that Angus was there at the con. How is that for being convenient. ALSO, he told us that he was wearing clown makeup and had a clown nose. LOL. Angus was the guy we had seen earlier.
Jason isn't easily impressed by people but once he heard Angus was in the room, he quickly ended his conversation and pretty much ran over to Angus' booth. I had too much water to drink so I had to go and excuse myself. SO by the time I got over to the booth, Jason had already bought 2 books which Angus had autographed and sketched "Helga" in one of them. Jason was so giddy and excited.
He showed me the books and he was in the middle of buying a t-shirt when Angus showed him the shirt he designed that said "fag." He said he wasn't sure if anybody would be interested in buying them HOWEVER us being a gay couple, we were interested. He even gave us a discount price IF we'd agree to wear it the second day of the Con.
I was so grateful for Angus being there because it brought Jason out of his funk and got him excited.
Angus and his "aunts" were fabulous!!!! Very friendly and they truly made us feel special.
So much so that he invited us to have drinks with them on the end of the second day.
So since Jason FINALLY understood what comics meant to me, he started to enjoy himself & apologized for not taking it more serious when I asked him to bring a certain amount of money. Because I knew that I would find things that I wanted.
We really didn't attend any panels that first day, we just walked around and I found a few things that I wanted. I, also, had to deal with an asshole vendor who looked so bored out of his skull and was so bitchy. I didn't want to do business with him but he was the only one that had all this cool Michael Turner art so I asked him about this sketchbook which he immediately told me was $50. So I just walked away.
Later that day, he finally priced it and THEN it was $40. I was glad I waited because I truly wanted it and so when I seen he marked it down I grabbed that sucker up. And then I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually TWO sketchbooks!!!! They contained his work on Superman/Batman which had appearances from Supergirl, Wonder Woman; his work on Fathom; sketches of Poison Ivy & Catwoman on each of the covers!!! Those sketchbooks are now my most prized possessions. LOL.
The second day was major major fun!!
We got there right before the VIP signing for John Cassaday. He was the artist on Astonishing X-Men with Joss Whedon!!!
I had to dash inside and buy 4 issues for him to sign. I stopped by Angus' booth afterwards to say Hi and he seen that we were wearing his "fag" shirts so he took our pictures.
I had to apologize to him for our sudden leave because we had to dash to get to the VIP signing.
So I am glad we ran over there when we did because they had a cutoff point and I almost missed out.
SO I finally got to meet John and Jason took our photo together. I was so starstruck that all I could muster was that I loved his artwork. He was really friendly and I didn't want to be as greedy as some of the other people who brought stacks of comics.
We also attended his panel on his work on Astonishing X-Men. I was truly touched that Jason attended it with me.
He knew that Joss wrote the story but he only knows the Buffy stuff. LOL. And John wasn't Joss. So I applaud him for putting up with it. LOL.
So afterwards, after the Con, we headed over to the Sheraton. It was a pretty cool looking hotel. And it also looked pricey. LOL. But then again, it might've been reasonable but we already had a place in mind to stay. We stayed at the Candlewood Suites in Dallas.
Oh yeah, this was so cool. Our tiny studio's fridge went out and so Jason talked to the manager and told him that there was mold on the wall when maintenance came to remove it and fix it. So he upgraded us to a 2 bedroom suite!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!! LOL. Even tho, we didn't use the second room, it was nice and roomy!!!
Sorry, I got off topic. LOL.
But we went to the bar and waited for Angus. We ordered our beers and then we seen his "aunts" walk in. So we moved to the front of the bar where they had a couch and three small tables. It was really cool to talk with them and listen to them tell me how they felt about Angus and how proud they were of him and what he's accomplished. Pictures were taken and wouldn't you know that my batteries were dead. UGH. But she told me that she would email me the photos. So once she does, I'll upload them.
I truly was touched and enjoyed our time there talking to them. They truly seemed to want to know what was going on with us and listening to what we had to say. I haven't ever really met anybody famous or infamous, so I didn't know what to expect. I thank them for that. For being real and I will always remember that.
Thanks Angus!!! Thanks Matt!!!
It was also sweet because some woman who wasn't really a part of the group came over and sat down and she was actually waiting for the auction they were holding to begin. She was in the wrong area and we told her. But they were totally cool and we laughed. We went upstairs to check it out and it was pretty cool. I was feeling tipsy so we said our goodbyes for the evening and headed back.
Afterwards, Jason called my dad to a
sk him to wire us some cash because we were broke. So my dad did and we had the funds for the last day.
On the last day, the vendors finally cut prices in half and I was so glad that my dad wired us money because I went and snatched up all the books I had been eyeballing all weekend. YAY!!!
Aside from the John Cassaday books, I bought some J. Scott Campbell covers and ALOT of the late and greatly missed Michael Turner covers. I talked to this woman who had all these Michael Turner stuff that I found myself coming back to. But I just couldn't afford them when they were full price. So when they slashed their prices, I grabbed up like 10 Michael Turner books!!! Christmas had come early!!! LOL.
But I complimented her on their booth and that they pretty much had alot of the stuff I wanted. I had wanted these prints of Michael's but just couldn't afford them. They were so beautiful!!!! So she gave me their email and told me to email her what I wanted. FABULOUS!!!!
I also got alot of people's cards and will definitely be checking them out in the future!!
OH yeah, while we were there. I seen Lou Ferrigno ("Incredible Hulk"), Corey Feldman ("Lost Boys"), "Chewbacca" (sorry I don't know his name!), Whilce Portacio ("Spawn"), Billy Tucci, Danny Trejo ("From Dusk Til Dawn"), one of the actors who portrayed Michael Myers in two fo the films, another actor who portrayed Jason Voorhees in the first few films. I also seen alot of awesome artwork by other artists.
I also bought a print from the FABULOUS Arthur Suydam!!!! He is the artist responsible for the covers of the Marvel Zombies!!!! The print I bought was the "Death of Supergirl" cover from "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that Wizard commissioned him to do. He autographed it personally to me and I am so proud of it!!! He is an amazing artist and I LOVE his zombies!!!!
I told him how much I loved his work and he thanked me and was gracious!!
While I was out doing my thing on the last day, Jason went off on his own and spent time at Angus' booth and got to visit with him when he wasn't busy with another fan. He also bought a couple more books, some of Angus' magnets and surprised me with a print of Angus' "The Teleporter Thingy."
I LOVED IT!!!! It's his take of 3 guys from Star Trek standing in the transporter, done in his style. LOL.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. So while I was out on a search, I ran into Matt and it was cool of him to say goodbye to me. I then went to find Jason and we said goodbye to Angus and his "aunts."

Thanks for reading this, if you decide to hear about my weekend.
Later.
Darren.

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