Motor City Part 2

Well, after a quick jaunt to say hi to some old and new friends at the show, I did marvel at how much bigger the Motor City show has gotten over the years. I think the last one I went to was in 2001 or so, and in comparison, this show was 1,000 times bigger.

The Great Lakes Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion were on hand to take pics with fans and escort the Star Wars actors.

And I did manage to catch one Star Wars personality taking a break with a great read –

That’s everyone’s favorite choking victim, Richard LeParmentier (Admiral Motti) enjoying a Wizard Magazine!

Another great thing I found at Motor City was the Froggy Photo Booth!

For those that have never seen this, it’s basically a way to get a professional photo taken of you with your favorite celebrity at the con! Froggy then prints it out, and then you can take it over to the celeb and have them sign it! It’s a GREAT souvenir!

I know Froggy has been doing this for a little while, and in April Wizard signed Froggy up to work at all of our 2009 shows! So be sure to head over to his booth and check out the schedule of photo sessions, buy your ticket to the ones you want, and be there at the right time to get a great bit of memorabilia from the show!

Yeah, that was totally a plug for something at a future Wizard show, but I had to write it as the boss was looking over my shoulder.

Anyway.

One thing Motor City did have that Wizard doesn’t is…. Playboy Playmates!

Since Wizard is considered more of a Comics and Family show, suitable for all ages, we don’t have a Playmate area like some cons. Is it a good thing? A bad thing? Who knows.

I wanted to invite some of them to a Wizard show, or at least pretend I was going to invite them just so they would have to be nice to me, but I’m just too nice a guy and can’t do that to them.

Wow, I actually wrote that last sentence with a straight face!

HA! I totally pretended like I could get them a table at other cons! But I’m evil.

One of the models, Josie Lee, actually ended up picking up a Slave Leia costume from a buddy of mine that runs Leiasmetalbikini.com

I got a pic with Josie while she was wearing the outfit. I mentioned before the pic was taken that if she were my slave girl, I would totally be her Jabba…

…so she wrapped the chain around my neck and choked me.

I really have to be more careful about what fantasies I talk about in public, huh?

-Spat

Motor City Comic Con After Action Report

Ok, so I just got back from Motor City, or Detroit Rock City as any self respecting KISS fan would call it. Of course, the convention is actually held in Novi, Michigan, but it’s still close enough that it can be considered a Detroit Convention.

Overall, it was a great event for me because it was the first time I got to greet people as the “the guy running Wizard World Philly”. While there are a ton of people working on the show in so many capacities here at Wizard, I know for a fact that if the show fails miserably, I take all the blame. Of course if it succeeds, it only did so thanks to the team work of all the individuals who took part in it. But if it all goes to hell, it was Spat’s fault.

So with that kind of confidence boost behind me, I got to go around the convention and meet the artists, media guests, agents and vendors who will be coming to future Wizard World shows.

Obviously, I can’t sit here and name everyone, and if you’re not mentioned, it’s not because you didn’t mean a lot to me, it’s just that I only have so many letters I can type here before Wizard starts charging me. Bandwidth is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, and anyone who works in the Wizard offices on a wireless laptop knows that for some unexplained reason, our internet shuts off at exactly 4:55 pm EVERY SINGLE DAY. No one can figure out why. But it does. I personally use it as a way to tell when it’s time for everyone else to start packing up to go home. You’ll notice that I say, “everyone else”. Because I seem to be one of the last people to ever leave here at night. In fact, it’s 9:30pm on Friday night of a Holiday weekend, and I’m here writing this Blog.

Technically, I came back to the office after dinner just to write it here because I can’t remember my Blog password to log in and do this at home, but I think it should still count as “staying late at work”.

Anyway, back to the con! Key amongst the people I got to meet at the show – Billy Tucci! He came up with an idea for a new Shi exclusive for the Philly show! Details to come soon! He also came up with some great ideas for our upcoming NY show, but we’ll get to that later.

Mark Sparacio! He also got inspired and came up with ANOTHER exclusive for Philly, which I hope to unveil on Tuesday.

Philly is starting to really heat up with exclusives!

Brian Pulido, who will be bringing Lady Death to Chicago with a vengeance!

Primo, who asked for a better booth at Wizard, and described himself as the Cher of our generation. Or something like that. I stopped paying attention after seeing some close-up drawings of Lady Death.

And Eric Mullarky who showed off his Motor City exclusive comics and hinted at the upcoming ones for Philly and Chicago.

I also got to talk to Mark Texeira, Dirk Strangely, Russ Heath, Tommy Castillo and a host of other creators, artists and writers before even making it to the Autograph area.

Once in the autograph area, I got the warmest welcome possible! Mr. Hogan (Col. Tigh of Battlestar Galactica) saw me walking by, wrote “Go Frak Yourself” in giant letters on one of his photos, signed it, crumpled it up, and threw it at my head.

Very odd.

I couldn’t figure out why he would do something like that until I looked through some of the pics on my digital camera. Once I saw the pic of he and I, it all came flooding back to me…

I met Mr. Hogan in the hotel lobby the night before. I asked to take a picture with him, and handed my camera off to someone else to take it for me.

He said, “Let’s make this a good one, eh?”, and I remember commenting that he sounded more Canadian than Australian. He asked why he would sound Australian, and I said, “Because you’re Crocodile Dundee. Paul Hogan.”

I remember me choking a lot, begging for air, and him yelling, “MIKE Hogan, not PAUL!!”.

Lesson learned.

Oh well. Time for me to head home and nurse my sore neck.

Until next time, remember that no two Hogans are alike!

-Spat

Convention Advice for the Noob… Part 2

Continued from last week…

26 – Swag. One great thing about the bigger conventions is the Swag. Swag is the goodies that Exhibitors and Vendors give away for free! And it’s not just junk (though sometimes it is), many times it’s key chains, toys, t-shirts, hats, all sorts of goodies, and they give it all away for FREE! So be sure to bring an extra bag, or a backpack to haul it all away in. But please be considerate. Don’t be the guy who keeps getting back on the line again and again!

27 – And speaking of bags and backpacks… You’re at a Comic Book Convention, not on Safari in the Serengeti. You don’t need a gigantic rucksack! And if you do, please be careful when making sharp turns, you might knock over someone’s booth!

28 – You will meet a lot of people at the show. They will forget your name. You will forget their name. Don’t be embarrassed about it. It’s why they give out name-tags.

29 – Be careful where you decide to plop down for a break. Don’t be that guy that everyone has to step over when walking down the aisles!

30 – Most of the celebs will charge you for a signed pic of them (usually between $20 – $40). Many will charge to sign an item that you bring them ($5 – $20), and some will charge you to take a pic with them. Be sure to ask about the prices BEFORE you commit to anything!

31 – If you are at a party, or at the bar, and you catch a celeb being naughty, or getting a little too drunk, be discreet. Taking pics or egging them on is in poor taste, and it ensures that they will not be coming out to party in public again in the future. Call me over, so I can take pics and egg them on. I’m better at it than you.

32 – If it’s your first time at a con, it can be a bit overwhelming. A great way to get involved with the con, AND meet a lot of people is to volunteer to work at the convention. You’ll usually get a free or discounted pass, and get to have some power to boss around the con goers! I suggest working for the Registration area, or Security. That’s where I actually started out back in 2000, and it was a lot of fun!

33 – While accurate and detailed costumes are cool, I find that the most memorable costumes from the con are the variations on the theme ones. Like the guy in the Darth Vader helmet wearing a cowboy hat and carrying a guitar… Garth Vader. Or Darth Brooks. Your choice. But you get the point. The funny costumes get a lot of attention, and no one can claim it’s not accurate!

34 – At night, at the bar in the hotels, you can wear pretty much anything you want. Feel more comfortable in pajamas? Wear them! Why the hell not? You’ll often see me in the hotel lobby wearing slippers and a smoking jacket. It’s a con, so (just about) anything goes!

35 – Talk to everyone. People are here to meet people. Go for it! It’s not very often that you’ll be surrounded by thousands of people who are all into the same stuff you are!

36 – Hotel rooms can be expensive, especially if you don’t plan the trip out in advance, and end up booking late. Of course, I know a lot of people who have made it through a convention by just crashing on different people’s floors each night. It’s cheap, and it’s not really that tough to do. Just be friendly and invite yourself over to visit. The trick to being allowed to stay the night is to just not leave!

37 – A great, untapped resource of Conventions is the ConSuite. I’m sure a lot of the regulars don’t even know what that is. It’s a room in the Convention that the convention sets up as a 24 hour relief station for the con goers. They have FREE food, sodas, and coffee all day, every day. It’s not the best food, but it is free. Not all cons have them, so be sure to ask the staff when you get there.

38 – Lines. Get used to standing in line. There are lines for everything at conventions! Lines to get in; lines to get out; lines for the bathrooms; and even lines you have to wait on before you can get in line for something else!

39 – Exclusives. A lot of conventions have specially made Exclusive items for their shows. These are things that are not sold anywhere else, and are therefore, very rare. Generally, it’s a standard item (toy, comic, statue) that’s been re-painted, or re-packaged to be unique to that venue. THESE are the things that are worth waiting in line for.

40 – Footwear. You’re going to be on your feet A LOT. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes! And nothing open toed! I see flip flops on you, I’m stepping on your foot!

41 – Sleep. Sleep is good. You’ll honestly be only getting 5 or 6 hour of sleep most nights. If even that much. More than that and you’re missing the convention and may as well have stayed home! Unless of course, you’re not sleeping alone! For each person you’re sharing the bed with (in the biblical sense), add 1 hour to the amount of time you can spend in bed each day.

42 – Safety. Remember that you are still in a public place. There are people out there who want to steal your stuff! Keep an eye on your gear! Also, be careful where you go, especially at night, and with whom.

43 – The accuracy of your costume will be put under the microscope. It does not matter if you are wearing the original costume that was used in the actual film, AND you are the original actor, someone will find fault with it. You can sit and argue with these people until you are blue in the face, or just ignore them. That’s what I do.

44 – Tipping is customary in the US. The first time you order a drink and don’t leave the waitress a tip is the last time you will ever see that waitress. Better hope you don’t get thirsty again!

45 – The convention supplies you with a schedule book listing all the events at the con. Be sure to look through it and check out some of the panels that go on. Many of them are run by fans, and are very informative, and the celebrity Q & A’s can be hilarious!

46 – Many times, the hotels that we stay at are also hosting other conventions the same weekend that we are there wrecking the place. These other convention folk will be mingling in with the geeks of the Convention, and many will be very scared and look very lost. Be nice to them. Some notable Con Combos from the past are: The Salvation Army (we had a lot of fun asking them what movie their costumes were from); Baptists Ministers (they had issues with all our debauchery for some reason); and Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. You’ll also see a lot of Flight Attendants, and sometimes they do look like they are in costumes. Asking them where they got their costume, or what movie they are from is in bad taste.

47 – Don’t do ANYTHING that you don’t want to have wind up on the internet (or the next Conventions Report Blog!).

48 – Get involved. While aimlessly wandering around the convention can be fun, being involved with the convention or a fan group can make it even more fun. Be sure to contact the groups in advance to see where to meet up, and what’s going on.

49 – That super hot girl that is all over you, and wants you to come with her someplace else is a stripper. She just wants your money.

50 – And finally, remember that you should never be ashamed of being a fan. Don’t be embarrassed to be going to a convention. Football fans paint themselves all sorts of strange colors and no one makes fun of them! Be yourself. Let your geek flag fly!

“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.”

-JANE AUSTEN

And on a final note…

I’ll be heading to the Motor City Comic Con in Novi Michigan this weekend! Be sure to come find me wandering aimlessly. If you don’t know what I look like, just look for the guy who keeps getting beaten up by the celebs! Just like I am here, getting the “what-for” from Zach Galligan of Gremlins and Waxwork fame!

Until next time!

-Spat

Convention Advice for the Noob… Part 1

I’ve been attending conventions regularly for about 10 years. And for the most part, these days I average about one convention a month, sometimes even more. And in those years, I’ve learned quite a bit about how to survive the con world. A lot of these rules are about the con itself, but a lot are also about the party afterward.

1 – Bring a camera. Either Video, or Still, or better yet, both! There are things you are going to see at these conventions that cannot be seen anywhere else. So always have your camera ready to shoot so you don’t miss anything.

2 – Bring extra batteries, film, memory sticks, tapes, whatever for the cameras. You will go through them quickly. Some people prefer cameras that take regular AA or AAA batteries because you can buy them anywhere if they run out, while others prefer the manufacturer’s rechargeable types because they last longer, and will save you money. Either way, keep a spare set on you at all times. And I’ve taken over 500 pics in one weekend, and unless you have a laptop to upload them to, you’ll need spare memory. It’s no fun when you have to go through the pics you’ve taken and decide which ones to delete so that you can take more later.

3 – If wearing a costume, bring a costume repair kit. Seems simple, but no matter how well made your costume is, there’s a good chance of breaking, tearing or doing some other damage to your costume. So bring a sewing kit, some safety pins, glue, rivets, hot glue, etc. You don’t have to carry it all with you, but should have it in your hotel room.

4 – Bring vitamins. You may not believe it, but about half the people who leave a big convention, leave with some kind of “funk”. This is usually from all the partying, lack of sleep, strange new environment, etc. Some regular multi-vitamins can save you a lot of trouble later, as can water. Dehydration is a big cause of illness (and hangovers), so carry some water with you, and drink it! Hand sanitizer is your best friend.

5 – Bring extra underwear!! Plan to shower often. PLEASE! Don’t be the stinky guy. There are enough of them already. And Febreeze your costume if you can’t get it washed before wearing it again!

6 – Don’t forget the importance of the local hotel bar! It’s where most of the celebs from the show will wander to after hours for a drink. Expect to spend some money at the bar. While you can bring your own drinks and other liquors and drink them at some hotel bars, you do need to buy a drink or two a night to keep the waitresses from trying to throw you out. Other bars in the other hotels may not let you bring your own drinks in, so be sure to check first before you whip out your bottle of home brew.

7 – Don’t be shy! Those girls that are half naked, are dressed like that for a reason. They want you to take pictures of them! Trust me! Just don’t touch without permission. If someone is in costume, they WANT you to take pictures of them!

8 – At the bar, if you see someone famous having a drink, it’s ok to go up and say hi. Try not to “geek out” on them, as it will scare them away. A simple, “Hey, I’m a big fan!” can go a long way. And don’t forget to ask if you can buy them a drink! I’ve actually met a lot of people just by offering to buy them a drink at a bar at a con. If they agree, they’ll usually show their appreciation by talking to you for a bit. I’ve heard some of the most amazing behind the scenes stories from actors and filmmakers who I bought a drink for!

9 – Pre-order your con tickets!! Never, ever buy a ticket the day of the show if you can help it. Buy the pass the day of the con and you’ll be waiting in line, and paying a lot more money. Always buy it in advance, it’s cheaper and it saves you time.

10 – The night before the con starts is usually the most fun night at most conventions. I don’t care what anyone else says, but the hotel bar before the con starts is the place to meet and greet all the regulars and have a blast. Most other cons that take place in a specific hotel, will have an active bar life the night before the con starts. Many people fly in early (as well as many of the celebrities), so check out the bar! Con goers are easy to find, they are the only ones in Sci-Fi themed hats and t-shirts.

11 – Bring a notepad and a pen. I can’t tell you how many times someone gives me a room number or phone number, or time and place for a party, or event, and I write it down on a napkin and ultimately lose it, or try to remember it and then I forget it. Another great trick is to make up your own business cards. Any Office Supply Store will have some nice ones that you can print out yourself for cheap. This way you can give those out to people to contact you later. You can even have them printed up with your hotel info on it!

12 – Room Parties, Room Parties, Room Parties. They are usually free to get into, or have a modest cover charge, but ultimately have free drinks all night! Just be sure to tip the bartender, or you’ll be the first one out the door.

13 – Be careful what you drink. There are lots of people walking around the con with flasks of unknown liquor in their pockets, or bottles of home made liquors that are all basically Everclear Grain Alcohol and Kool Aid. Drink a lot of these, and your night will be over pretty quickly. I usually try to avoid the “Mystery Liquors” until I’ve had a few drinks and then no longer care what I drink. But I’m stupid. Don’t be like me. But if you have Mystery Liquor, come find me at the bar.

14 – There are celebrities everywhere. Act cool, and don’t ask them dorky questions, and you’ll be fine. Be sure to compliment them. Celebs are very insecure.

15 – Wear your obscure t-shirts. This is one of the only places on Earth where people will know where your Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems t-shirt is from. Let your geek flag fly!

16 – You will see a lot of girls making out with each other all over the bar scene at conventions these days. Feel free to take pics and video (and send them to me), but don’t expect to be allowed to jump in. That’s my job! And if you do jump in, make sure they are both female first! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found out later about…. never mind.

17 – The dealer’s room has a lot of awesome stuff for sale. If you see something you want, but it’s a bit too expensive, you can haggle. Also, on the last day of the con, when the dealer’s are getting ready to pack up and go home, you can practically name your price. One more thing they sell is one less thing they have to take home!

18 – Be careful with your costumes. If this is your first time wearing a particular costume at a convention, be sure to break it in, and make sure it’s comfortable, make sure you can see out of it, and breathe while wearing it. Seems a little odd to say, but make sure you can use the toilet with the costume on. There’s nothing scarier than seeing someone in a really elaborate and cool costume begging people to tear it off them so they can go pee. Also, make sure there’s nothing on the costume that can break off, fall off, or be snatched off. You’ll be wandering through hallways that were meant for 20 people, but are packed with 200 people trying to squeeze past you. If there’s a part of your costume that CAN fall or be ripped off, it WILL fall or be ripped off. Also, if there’s a part of your costume that sticks out, it WILL poke someone in the eye!

19 – If you are claustrophobic, you may want to think about staying home. Conventions are usually PACKED.

20 – Everyone is single at Conventions. No matter how many rings they have on their finger, or if they are standing next to their husband or wife. Don’t ask me why there is so much “swapping”, just go with it.

21 – The hotel you stay at makes a big difference. You may think you’re getting a great deal staying at a hotel a few miles away, but the travel involved will tire you out so fast that you won’t want to keep going back and forth to the show. Just try to stay as close to the main events at the con as possible, within reason. It may cost a bit more to stay in the center of the fun, but it is absolutely worth it. Be sure to check with the conventions website to see where ground zero will be.

22 – Food. Food is tough. Going “off campus” to eat is fun and all, but the area around the average convention center is expensive, and walking the streets, especially in costume, is annoying. The normals just don’t get it. There’s usually a nice cheap place nearby, but finding it can sometimes be difficult. And fast food is the surest way to be sure you won’t be fitting into your costume again soon. Also, energy bars are a great thing to carry around with you while at the con. It’s a fast snack, and can mean the difference between life and death when you’re trying to make your way around the show.

23 – Elevators. I don’t care what anyone says, once the convention is in full swing, ALL the elevators suck. There’s nothing you can do about it. There are just too many people trying to use too few elevators. Plan your trip back to your room carefully, it may take a while.

24 – Bring weird stuff. I know it sounds silly, but every year, there’s someone giving out fez’s, or stickers, or tattoos, or other odd stuff. I love those guys! But even if you’re not giving stuff away, bringing a puppet or a silly hat is a great way to make an impact and be remembered, and meet new people.

25 – Breath mints. Nuff said.

Ok, I’ll pause it here until next week. And in the meantime, leave you with a pic of me meeting up with Johnathan Tiersten from Sleepaway Camp….

And then getting punched.

Until next week!

-Spat