AN INSANELY CRAZY COMIC CON!!!

Another Comic Con has come and gone, and this one was totally insane!  It had it's ups and downs, as it always does, but I still had a blast attending it!  Made many new friends while catching up with old ones.  I also decided to take the plunge and go to portfolio reviews with Cartoon Network and Hasbro. And while I came away with no job, I know that at least my work is appreciated, and that I am now more determined than ever to make a good run as a cartoonist.  I also had the thrill of a lifetime taking part in The Blank Page Project (More on that later) and meeting legendary VO artist Jim Cummings, who told me I definitely had a future in cartoons!

It was one of the best weeks of my life and rather than just tell y'all about it, allow me to show you...

 Azog the Defiler was there and I gotta say, he's much shorter in real life!

 For two years now, religious (and non-religious) zealots have been showing up and ruining the Con for people, telling us we're evil for liking comics and fantasy.  Luckily, these kids showed up and reminded everybody the REAL reason we're there: To have fun!

 Jenkies!  Anybody else wanna solve a groovy mystery right now?

Bo Peep and Woody stopped by to make sure all the toys were safe and accounted for. 

 The scene across the street at the Gaslamp Quarter, where even MORE wild free fun could be found!

 And here's the now traditional obligatory Luchadore Mask pic, this time with my new Teal Ultimo Dragon mask!  Also decided to give Lego's bastard stepbrother a little bit of publicity!

Master Yoda is so generous.  He used the Force to conjure up some lunch money for me. 

Earlier I mentioned the Blank Page Project and here it is!  The premise was simple: The Hero Initiative and Comixology brought in a huge 8' x 12' canvas and invited a bunch of artists to fill it up!  Imagine my shock when I came back later on to see that Kevin Eastman himself drew Rafael right next to Mike and Mindy!  If I died tomorrow I'd feel somewhat fulfilled!  A huge thanks goes out to the wonderful folks at My Comic Rocket for getting me on this!  You guys are the best! 

 High Five Ghost is in the house!  Given the awesome Regular Show Experience taking place at the Children's Museum across the street, I'm surprised there wasn't more Regular Show cosplay.

 Any other week of the year, these two would be rivals.  Sadly, Grimace and Col. Sanders couldn't make it this year.  They were attending the Burger king's funeral.

 NYC's greatest vigilante madman, Casey Jones!

 This Lemongrab costume was, surprisingly enough, ACCEPTABLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!

Loveboat The Next Generation!  This isn't the first time I've seen this at Comic Con and, not surprisingly, they said I was the only one figured it out.  Kids today! 

The Sharknado appeared! 

Uh oh!  The Swedish Chef has been caught and added to the collective!  Now his slogan is "BORG BORG BORG!!!"  

The Ice Queen!  Still trolling for dudes! 

KITT was spotted patrolling through the East Village.  Good thing too.  That place gets creepy at night! 

Not sure what this was part of, but the Dragon being led around 5th Avenue was freakin' awesome! 

They will seriously pony-fy ANYTHING these days!  And yet, it really does work style-wise.  Her proton pack even lit up!  

The week ended with a heartwarming reunion between Beetlejuice and Lydia.  It's nice to see that she could forgive him for attempting to kill her parents, destroy her home and force her to marry him!

And thus concludes the journey for Comic Con 2013.  It's only been over for a few days, but I'm already making my plans for next year's show!  Maybe then I'll finally earn enough to just stay at a hotel for the week and quit bumming rides off people!  Only time will tell...

That's all for this week folks.  I'll be back next time with a brand new Mike and Mindy that is simply "Bubbling" with laughs!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

IT'S HERE!!! GET READY FOR COMIC CON 2013!!!

IT'S HERE!!! The most glorious week there is for those of us in the creative field!  I'm really excited about this year's Comic Con!  I got so many friends from Twitter that will be attending, many of whom I'll be meeting for the first time ever, not to mention many new friends that are just waiting to be made!  And of course, there's LOADS of books and toys I'll get to add to my collection due to numerous impulse buys that'll likely set me back for months!  Yup, it's gonna be a great week!  But until then, I got some pre-Comic Con fun planned out for you.  So sit back and enjoy the newest Mushrooms comic...

Ah, we are now into our third installment of Comic Con's Most Wanted!  So many types to get to, and all of them very much real!  And who better to help me deal with these Con blowhards than some of my pals from the Web Comics realm!  In panel one we have Brandon and Collin Oliver from the Twxxd Podcast dealing with a more recent Con menace.  Next up, Goober and Cindy from Daniel Barton's Goober and Cindy encounter a con type I actually came across myself at Wondercon this year!  Panel three sees the whole Golz family from Warren Frantz's Off Season come across a Con regular I don't really mind too much.  Up to panel four now, where Rich Clabaugh's Graveyard Gang come across another Con regular who's numbers have grown rather steadily in recent years.  Furries are a unique bunch to say the least, but one must question the logic of wearing a heavy fur costume in the middle of Summer!  In panel five, Vinnie and Sunny from Tim Green's Vinnie the Vampire encounter an old school Con goer, one who has annoyed many a casual fan!  Lastly, a double dose of comic pals!  Noah Carolan's Nerdy Wilkinson and the Rebecca Horn's Canine Kid both deal with the most common jerk you will find at Comic Con!

And now, because I love posting old Con pics so much, here's a look back at least year's Comic Con!  Enjoy!

"Dawn of the Con" was a total bust.  However this pic in front of the Munster's car while wearing my sweet Ultimo Dragon mask sure wasn't!

A very rare sight: Comic Con being put together!  This is from the DC booth staring towards the Marvel booth.

Another behind the scenes look, this time from the Cartoon Network booth.

The Walking Dead booth.  I hung all the lights for this one!

Dr. Henry Jones, Sr.  Apparently the Holy Grail was spotted in the Sails Pavilion.

Poor Gambit.  As if his underuse in X-Men Origins wasn't bad enough, now he's being hassled by the infamous Con Security!

They're on a Mission from God with a Briefcase Full of Blues.  Best stay outta their way!

The really cool Sega Pavilion, held at a hotel across the street.  One of many cool freebies for people who couldn't get Con badges.

Never thought I'd live to see David the Gnome cosplay!  Who knew people still remembered that show?

All though it was a huge letdown, "Dawn of the Con did have some cool things, like the stilted Demon walkers!

Alex Ross-style Joker!  Such a classy look for such an evil clown!

Careful now.  I think we're being watched!

Sailer Scouts.  Wouldn't be Con without 'em!

The REAL Batmobile!  Another freebie for all to enjoy at the Hilton park.  The Schumacher Batmobiles had quite a few noticeable loogies plastered on them.  Wouldn't have surprised me if someone peed on the tires too!

QUAILMAN!!!  Doug cosplay has become quite the rage at cons recently.  Still hoping to see Skeeter and Roger one of these days.

Wonder how much roaming charges in Middle Earth are?

Gettin' down and funky with the Just Dance Girls over at the Nintendo Pavilion!  In case you haven't figured it out yet, there are a LOT of free things in Downtown San Diego during Comic Con for those who can't get badges, this being another.  Quite frankly, some of the freebies are even better than the stuff in the exhibit hall!

Straight outta Sesame Street!  The Yip-Yaps have invaded!

My niece Kristen sports a mask she got from the Kaijudo Riders booth while sampling the Big Boy's burger!

Who ya gonna call?

Elvis was spotted!  He was waiting for Jimmy Hoffa and Bigfoot to arrive on their Unicorn!

COOKIE MONSTER!!! He was later found passed out with a cup full of dollars resting in his hand.

The good folks at ShiftyLook set up a retro arcade for all to enjoy at the Hilton Gaslamp during the weekend.  And since it was Dig Dug's 30th Anniversary, we all decided to celebrate by inflating a bunch of hapless monsters until they popped!

Ursella the Sea Witch.  She is on my Top 5 list for best Disney Villains.

Moltar!  I love me some old school Space Ghost cosplay!

BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL INDEED!!!

Nice to see these two could put their differences aside long enough to sign for the fans.  Sadly, Reptile couldn't make it out that weekend.

Last but not least, my favorite booth to shop at, provided you can get in line quick enough!  I'd mention my shock that My Little Pony and JEM! were the top sellers, but Karen Gownley's daughters still have an open hit on me, so I best keep my mouth shut.  Plus, I forked out $86 just to get a Star Wars set because it had a Jar Jar in carbonite figure.  Who am I to judge?!

And so we reach the end of our post.  Due to an overloaded schedule, no post next week, but follow me on Twitter as I will be doing live tweets throughout Comic Con and might even have some freebies to pass out!  So keep a watch on my Twitter feed for updates!

Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all at Comic Con!