JULY IS HERE AND SO IS COMIC CON!!! ALMOST!!!

We are back CRAZIES!!!  And welcome to July!  It's been a long wait, but we are finally close to the homestretch!  Comic Con 2025 is a mere weeks away!  But before that, we gotta relive some past fun while we wait on the new fun, and I'll try and be quick because I know we're all in a barbecue mood right now!  So lace up those Converses and cap up your Code Red Mountain Dews as we head way back to Comic Con 2018!  The CRAZY Comic Con Countdown rallies on...

MACHO MADNESS TAKIN' OVER THE GASLAMP!!!  OOH YEAH!!!

My niece, Kristen, rocking her watermelon armor and sword in the East Village as we made our way from the 12th & Imperial Trolley stop towards the Convention Center.

Had a feeling our lord and savior's ideals might not line up with theirs...

The Ghostbusters activation at the Petco Park Interactive Zone!  It was a pretty awesome year for the Zone, which expanded immensely with more activations, a beer garden and even night time programming!  Alas, it would only last this one year, but there's always hope for the future.  I didn't get to explore much last year, but they seemed to have more offerings than they'd had since coming back from the pandemic.  Hopefully this year will see further expansion.

The Lucasfilm booth heralding the home video release of Solo!  It's a damn pity this movie got swallowed up in the aftermath of The Last Jedi, as Solo was a genuinely fun movie that felt like old school Star Wars!  Fans seem to appreciate it more now at least.

Uh oh!  Better wake up!

The Jack Ryan activation at the Amazon offsite!  2018 was the year Amazon seemed to finally figure out their offsite before really nailing it in 2019!  Sadly, they haven't had one since...

Deadpool and the Rock-afire Explosion was a team I didn't know we needed!  All kidding aside, most of the kids there had no clue who the Rock-afire were and kept asking which X-Men were a gorilla and bear?

Not sure what Captain Caveman was on in this pic, but I don't want any of it!

Green Lantern John Stewart keeping the streets safe during the con!

The much beloved and much-missed SyFy Street Team...  If any executives at NBC-Universal or the SyFy Chanel are reading this: PLEASE BRING IT BACK!!!

Do the Bartman!

This cosplayer figured out the premise of Deadpool & Wolverine six years before the movie even came out!

Lastly, the Fast Food Avengers!  A truly tasty cosplay if there ever was one!

And that was Comic Con 2018!  A great year for cosplay and offsites, with my niece's watermelon armor in particular stealing the show, and a pretty good year for swag too!  So much of it is a blur now, but I do remember it being one of the most fun times I've had at the show.  

That's all for now, but there's no need to fret.  PLENTY more Comic Con action is coming your way, so be sure to come back next week for more!  Until then, take care and especially stay safe this weekend as we celebrate the 4th of July!  Leave the fireworks to the experts and hitch a ride if you indulge in too many brews!  Anyway, catch y'all later!

MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG TO 2017 WITH THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!

 

We have come to the end...  OF JUNE!!!  That's right CRAZIES, you ain't getting rid of me that easily!  We are less than a month away from Comic Con 2025 and I am totally hawked up on excitement, Wild Cherry Pepsi and Deep Fried Twinkies (It's still Fair Season too), so let's just cut right to the chase!  It's 2017, it's Comic Con, and if you haven't put on a clean pair of Spider-man Underoos yet, well then you only have yourself to blame really.  The CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN IS A GO!!!

WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB!!!

By Grabthar's Hammer!  What a cosplay!

My niece, Kristen, hamming it up in a Kong skull at the Kong: Skull Island offsite!

Celebrity guest were all the rage at the Petco Park Interactive Zone in 2017, as was the Pepsi Food Truck that got shut down for not having a proper food handler's permit!

Typical Red Shirt...

Great Lucha Family cosplay!

The infamous Game Of Thrones photo op at the Omni Hotel where folks stood in line for over EIGHT HOURS just to get their pictures taken on the throne made of swords.  I don't care how cool the show is, NOTHING is worth that much of one's valuable time at SDCC.  The most insulting part of it, many still didn't get in!

Forget Skeleton Crew, somebody greenlight Endor 911 already!

The old Hasbro Toy Shop booth with a VERY rare sight: NO LINES!!!  Why?  What caused this anomaly?  Simple!  All the big ticket items sold out by Friday afternoon.  I just walked in and bought what I wanted! (A Visionaries collectible for those curious)

For a few years, Laika Animation put on a pretty cool offsite that even started a week before SDCC did.  But, as their films tapered off, so too did their promotional budgets.  This would be their last trip to San Diego. 

Damn, yo!  I like Jack In The Box too, but not THAT much!!!

The Silver Snakes, The Green Monkeys and the Blue Barracudas...

Three legendary teams from a legendary hidden temple...

Jonah and Servo.  They could really use Joel right now!

And finally, how we ALL feel after a weekend at SDCC...

And that was SDCC 2017!  Another year that I know I did cool stuff at, but it's all just a blur right now.  Some rough months followed this show, which might explain why I don't remember much, but as the pictures show, a good time was had by all and I still got a lot of that swag!

And that's a wrap on June 2025, but the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN will be back next week, providing some early fireworks for your 4th of July weekend!  So be sure to come back and give it a look!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

COMIC CON 2016!!! THE CRAZY TRAIN KEEPS ON CHUGGING!!!

Hey hey hey!  Its the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  That's right, we are another week closer to that glorious event that is SDCC!!!  I'm already building up endurance and getting my steps in so I can be properly prepared!  But before that, here's one last reminder about something very near and dear to me that's going on Friday night in Charlotte, NC...

For close to a decade now, I have contributed art to the Team Cul De Sac Art Auction held every year at HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC.  All proceeds go towards research in finding a cure for Parkinson's Disease, a terrible illness that has claimed many lives, including that of cartoonist Richard Thompson, the creator of Cul De Sac.  Below are the pieces I have sent in for the auction...

HERMIT CRAB HUNT: Alice and Mr. Danders have gone out hunting for usurping hermit crabs on the remains of the Bliss Haven Preschool.  Pen and ink mixed media piece illustrated on 9 x 12in. vellum paper and colored in Olo Markers and PrismaColor Colored Pencils. 

MIKE & MINDY: FRIENDSHIP IS CHAOS!!!: Mike and Mindy are back and taking their cartoony mayhem to unheard of levels!  Second grade just can't contain these loony tykes!  Pen and ink mixed media piece illustrated on 9 x 12in. vellum paper and colored in Olo Markers and PrismaColor Colored Pencils.

If you're going to be in the Charlotte area this, Friday, June 20, please consider attending the auction.  In addition to being a rare chance to own some CRAZY original art, it's also for a very noble cause.  Parkinson's isn't picky.  Anybody can get it and now, more than ever, researchers need funding to find a cure to this horrible disease.  So please make the rounds and drop some bids.  Trust me, there's gonna be some incredible artwork up for grabs.  Think of it as a duel prize: You get some cool art on your wall while Parkinson's Disease gets a swift kick in the ass!  It's a winning situation for all!

And now, we continue our trek to another huge show making its way to the stage, the one and only Comic Con!  Can you believe we are five weeks away from the grand daddy of them all?!?  It's enough to make me drop my deep-fried, bacon-wrapped pork belly on a stick just thinking about it!  (Sorry folks, the Fair's going on right now, so I'm also in foodie mode too!)  Think we can all stand to burn some calories right now, so let's fire up our 3DS' and bust out some Pokemon Go because the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN is on!!! 

Megaman makes a mega impression!

Bert and Mary would like some stickers!

Friendly faces everywhere!

Humble folks without temptation!

A lotta folks would prefer Snoopy right now...

Have no memory of this show at all!  I'm sure it was fun though.

The Geico Gecko took over the Petco Park Interactive Zone!  They gave out really cool bags too!

He just wants some sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!

The Walking Dead booth.  Use to get some killer photo ops here!

End of the line for both NerdHQ and the Xbox Lounge.  They combined in 2016 to put on a mega offsite only to be pressured out by higher forces.

The well-intended but ill-fated ConX by Entertainment Weekly.  They had some great activations and killer swag but were ultimately just too far away for some attendees to hoof it to.  Oddly enough, the crowds really started showing up for the nighttime festivities they had there. 

Bespin smooth baby!

Little buddy!  You gotta help the Big Kahuna prepare for his surf-off against Zed and the other beach punks! (Bonus points to everyone that gets THAT reference!)

DONUTS!!!

And finally, Nickelodeon's shrine to the characters they continue to exploit through merchandising, but refuse to release through multiple viewing platforms despite a very clear demand.

And that was SDCC 2016!  A truly phenomenal year that saw lots of great panels, awesome swag and some of the best offsites ever held!  I was sad when this one ended.  We were all having so much fun that five days (Preview Night) just didn't seem like enough.  Christmas and Halloween span months now, why not Comic Con?!?  But, I suppose part of the reason that it is so special is because we only get it so briefly.  We just have to enjoy the time we get.

And so ends another week of this CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN, but hey!  There's still seven more posts to go, so be sure to come back next week so we can send June 2025 off on a high note!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch yall later!

COMIC CON 2015!!! MORE BLAST, INCREASED PAST!!!

We are back CRAZIES!!!  And hey!  It's opening day of the San Diego County Fair!  Granted, I can't go due to work, but that just means I'll have more to spend when I do go!  So, yeah, you may have heard a little thing called Comic Con is rapidly approaching, but first, there's something else important that precedes it...  

For close to a decade now, I have contributed art to the Team Cul De Sac Art Auction held every year at HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC.  All proceeds go towards research in finding a cure for Parkinson's Disease, a terrible illness that has claimed many lives, including that of cartoonist Richard Thompson, the creator of Cul De Sac.  Below are the pieces I have sent in for the auction...

HERMIT CRAB HUNT: Alice and Mr. Danders have gone out hunting for usurping hermit crabs on the remains of the Bliss Haven Preschool.  Pen and ink mixed media piece illustrated on 9 x 12in. vellum paper and colored in Olo Markers and PrismaColor Colored Pencils. 

MIKE & MINDY: FRIENDSHIP IS CHAOS!!!: Mike and Mindy are back and taking their cartoony mayhem to unheard of levels!  Second grade just can't contain these loony tykes!  Pen and ink mixed media piece illustrated on 9 x 12in. vellum paper and colored in Olo Markers and PrismaColor Colored Pencils.

If you're going to be in the Charlotte area on the night of June 20, please consider attending the auction.  In addition to being a rare chance to own some CRAZY original art, it's also for a very noble cause.  Parkinson's isn't picky.  Anybody can get it and now, more than ever, researchers need funding to find a cure to this horrible disease.  So please make the rounds and drop some bids.  Trust me, there's gonna be some incredible artwork up for grabs.  Think of it as a duel prize: You get some cool art on your wall while Parkinson's Disease gets a swift kick in the ass!  It's a winning combination!

Now, it's time to head back to the surprisingly distant past for anther Comic Con long gone.  The time is 2015, the place is San Diego.  Hold on to your Flaming Hot Cheetos CRAZIES!!!  The CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN is on!!!

Another very rare behind the scenes shot during load-in, this time in Hall C.  It's wild to think how cavernous the building can be with no booths in it!

The FX Experience!  Quite possibly the longest running offsite at this point, it has become a grand tradition for all to enjoy at SDCC, badge or not! 

If only a baseball bat were enough...

Thank God for the Joker!  He spits some real truth!

Some ponies spreading some happiness with a little one!

Stormtroopers marching their way towards what would become a very legendary Hall H panel for Star Wars! 

The much loved and much missed NerdHQ!  Got some killer swag and snacks there!

A true power couple right here!

Another Nickelodeon Legend!

Always something really cool going on at the Petco Park Interactive Zone!

Suddenly Mario...

Is here to provide yooooooooou...

So Gandalf, a Spaceball and apparently Jeff Hardy walk into a bar...

Would you look at that?  Odlaw and Wizard Whitebeard!  Someone finally thought outside the box with their Where's Waldo? cosplay?

Dr. Hammond spared no expense for this date!

And that was SDCC 2015!  A pretty legendary year, largely because of the epic Star Wars panel and concert that followed.  This is another one that is such a blur now despite doing some really cool things, though I did get stung by a bee while taking part at the Hero Initiative's Drink 'N' Draw event!  I recovered though and spent some quality time with my nephew and niece, as seen in the pic at the top of the post.  They're all grown up now, but still have fond memories of getting fro-yo for breakfast with Uncle Jon!

 Well, another post bites the dust, but there's seriously nothing to worry about folks.  We got LOTS more Comic Con coverage coming, so hang tight and come back next week!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!