BLUESCAR!!! COSMIC BARBARIAN!!!

We are back CRAZIES and would ya look at that?  It's the last post of April already!  And the day before my 40th birthday no less!  But now is not the time to drone on about how I've already squandered half of my life away.  Now is the time to talk about art!  Colorful art!  Colorful art done for a friend!  Still not getting it?  Scroll down and all will finally make sense!  Enjoy...

Meet Bluescar, a little barbarian who packs a BIG punch!  Don't let his age full you, that helmet, sword and loincloth have seen a lot of action in his short lifetime, and that doesn't even include the battles!  Created by longtime friend of the CRAZYVERSE, Jamie Cosley, Bluescar is the tale of a boy barbarian who goes on quests, fights monsters and gets into the typical shenanigans that kids often get into without even trying really.  Think Conan meets The Three Stooges, and you got a whole lotta fun that the Great Cosley has once again cooked up!  Jamie's always delivered big laughs with his whimsical and wonderful characters going all the way back to his Cody the Cavalier days.  Like a fine wine, he only gets better with time, and it was so much fun to work on this mixed media piece.  Bluescar himself is rendered in markers with colored pencil highlights while the background was achieved by using a black marker covered in oil pastel overlays to create the look of an aura around him.  So evil doers and tacos beware!  Bluescar is coming for ya!  And he's hungry!

And for anybody looking to use pastels or colored pencils for the first time, remember to use paper with a rougher surface.  Although they do make pastel/pencil specific paper, I've personally had better luck using Bristol board with a velum surface.  Blends better for some reason.

And so we wrap up another month as April comes to a close, but don't feel glum.  We're keeping the Fan Art Party going into May as a true legend gets the spotlight next week, so be sure to come back and start the new month in a super way!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later! 

UP, UP AND AWAY WITH BUBBLE FOX, PEPPERMINT TWIST AND LOONYPOP, ER, LOLLIPOP!!!

*Sighs* Well, after weeks of wonderful WonderCon coverage, things are back to normal here at the CRAZYVERSE, but that's okay.  Life goes on and we must move forward, otherwise we'll just remain stagnant.   Plus, we're roughly seven weeks away from starting our Comic Con coverage, so the wait for more cosplay chaos won't be too long!  But what are we gonna do in between?  Celebrate some wonderful artist pals, that's what!  The next few weeks are all about Fan Art, so let's get right to it with one of my most uplifting pals!  Enjoy...

Lollipop!  Lollipop!  Oh lolly lolly lolly Lolli-FWOMP!!!

My goodness!  Lollipop really let herself go!  NO!!!  That egotistical Peppermint Twist couldn't take being a second banana anymore and goaded Bubble Fox into inflating Lollipop with helium so that she'd float away and Peppermint Twist could take over as the star of the comic!  It's funny, Lollipop's the one that is actually inflated and yet Peppermint Twist STILL has more hot air!  This week's art honors my very dear friend Jennifer Cuthbert, creator of the wonderful all-ages comic The Adventures of Lollipop, the tale of a girl named Lollipop and the wild adventures she and her brother, dog and friends go on due to her extremely well-funded Canadian public school!  Several years ago, Jennifer introduced a side continuity where Bubble Fox enters their school as an American exchange student and, as expected, hilarity and surreal cartoon gags emerged, with Bubble and Peppermint Twist, Lollipop's frenemy, forming a particularly close bond.  In many ways, it kinda mirrors the friendship Jennifer and I have, two people from different backgrounds, different countries even who found a bond through a mutual love of comics and entertainment.  'Course, Jennifer and I are far less inflatable than our cartoon counterparts!  What does the future hold for poor Lolli-POOF?  Stay "Tooned!"  

Well, that's all for now, but we got even more Fan Art coming your way next week, so be sure to come back and catch all the action!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WONDERCON 2024 IS HERE!!! TWO WEEKS LATE BUT FINALLY HERE!!!

 

Well, it's two weeks later and reality has set back in and now I can definitely tell you how well WonderCon 2024 went.  But why talk about how it all went down when I can show you how it all went down?  It's time to head back one last time to the Happiest Place Across The Street From The Happiest Place on Earth as the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown concludes for the year!  Enjoy...

Sam and Max!  Obscure cosplay right off the bat!  I knew it was gonna be a good weekend when I spotted these two the moment I entered the hall!

Believe me Scarecrow, your brains are working just fine.  You picked the one sunny day of WonderCon to cosplay!

A match made in the Heavens for sure!

If you know, you know!

Super Grover was in the house!  And he was eventually thrown out after crashing into numerous booths and displays and then kept harassing some bald, blue guy with mustache for no discernible reason!

With Funko skipping town this year, not too many immersive booths on hand, though this booth promoting a SciFi book of some sort was pretty cool!  Lots of projection, lots of holograms and cool mood music and lighting.

They come from a home that's presently being refurbished for the 999 happy haunts that live there so they can make room for even more!

With so many variants over the years, I honestly wouldn't be surprised at all if there's an actual, legit Weird Al Barbie Doll in existence.

"Have you seen this boy?"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!!!"

Seriously, this T-1000 cosplay was totally badass!  When the guy told me I was only the second person to get it, I felt my heart sink.  Terminator 2: Judgement Day was one of THE definitive films of not just the 90's, but cinema period!  Its special effects took things to a whole new level and they still hold up today.  At least we get it bro.

She came!  The Sad Oompa Loompa made the trip all the way from Scotland to grace WonderCon with her indifference!  Gonna be honest here, I was really hoping more cosplayers would pay homage to the spectacular failure that was "Willy's Chocolate Experience."  To say it was a dumpster fire would be an insult to actual dumpster fires, but it did inspire so much unintended comedy that keeps producing new tales of bizarre intrigue despite only lasting mere hours!  It is literally the gift that keeps on giving!

The halls were more crowded than usual at WonderCon this year as the heavens opened up on Saturday morning and never really let up until Sunday evening, AFTER the show had ended.  As the picture at the top of the post suggests, not much action happened at all outside this year, though the food trucks still showed up and they were delicious!

With Chief Big Mac taken down after years of corruption, Grimace stepped in as the Chief Constable of McDonaldland!  And much to everybody's shock, that big, blobby dumbass caught the notorious Hamburglar his very first day on the job!  Even Ronald's disturbed by it all!

Had a good hearty laugh at this Paddington cosplay!  Not many people got it, despite the movies being popular, but I loved it!  My Aunt Marisa's gonna get a kick out of this one too!

The Crystal Gems dawned wings and became fairies for the day!  Also, I've waited so long to see some Spinel cosplay and was so happy to see two of them in one spot!

Lonestar's very strong with the upside of the Schwartz!  Wonder how well he handles it?

With all the rain outside, the cosplay gatherings instead took place in the lobbies outside of the exhibit hall!  It was actually really cool because it provided better lighting and photo ops for everybody.  Only real downer about the weather really was that they didn't have any of the impromptu dance parties this year that typically take place near the fountain after the exhibit hall closes.

Willy Wonka is enjoying his newfound fame from both Wonka and the Scotland fiasco by swooping up Marge Simpson and strutting the lobby in style!  

They are on a quest for the Holy Grail while Sir Robin the Brave looks for the quickest exit!

And finally, Statler and Waldorf give there honest opinion of the weather outside!  Without question my favorite cosplay of WonderCon that weekend!

And that was WonderCon 2024!  It was a great weekend that did get off on a shaky start.  The day I drove up I got stuck in accident traffic for nearly an hour and then had to deal with throngs of crowds at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm on consecutive days before finally settling in at a smooth and fun convention.  Had quite a few impulse buys including scoring a couple of rare toys and even more rare comics!  The real highlight of the weekend though was my good friend Matt Eargle showing up in a fedora and trench coat due to the rain and being continually mistook as Inspector Gadget, despite the fact that he WASN'T cosplaying!  Matt was a good sport though and played along, so it was all in good fun!  Best of all, no sinus infection this time!  Though fate did find it necessary to throw out my back the day I returned to work, but that's a tale for a different day.  All in all, it was a great weekend and I hope to keep the streak of awesome going next year!

And that's a wrap on the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown 2024!  God willing I'll be back in 2025 as a re-verified professional ready for even more fun and hopefully more Sun too!  Next week, art returns to the CRAZYVERSE but try not to be too sad about the loss of Con pics.  We are now only eight weeks away from the return of the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown, so stay tuned!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WONDERCON 2023... STILL RECOVERING FROM WONDERCON 2024!!!

 

Well, here we are.  Another WonderCon has passed.  And it was...  I haven't the foggiest idea.  As I've stated many times, I write these posts well in advance.  In fact, as I write this we are eight days away from the show even starting.  I haven't even packed yet!  But, it is posting today, three days after the show has already ended!  Hopefully, I'm feeling okay right now and not battling a raging sinus infection like last year.  Since I can't really predict what next week's post is gonna be like, let's just skip ahead to the pics.  The CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is still a go!  Enjoy...

Crystal Gems and Hitchhiking Ghosts...  You should be wary of both!

After February's Wonka fiasco in Scotland, I think people might have a better appreciation of the Tim Burton Wonka film now.  Having read the book, I actually understood and got what Burton and Johnny Depp were trying to do.  I'm also really hoping I'll have some Sad Oompa Loompa and Unknown cosplay pics to post next week!

They're off to see the Wizard!

Good God!  Energy Drink Monster needs to find something else to get hooked on!

There once was a time when the channel that inspired this cosplay actually meant something...

I don't think this one lives in a dream house.

Well alrighty then!

Inspector Gadget is on the case!

They were looking for a large scratching post!

PIGS...  IN...  SPAAAAAAAACE!!!

There are some who call him... Tim?

Furry dance party...  Not much else can really be said about it.

Although I'm writing this from the past, it's already been announced that Funko wouldn't be back this year.  It's a shocker for sure as they were a HUGE part of the last two WonderCons, with a fully immersive booth that took up half a hall.  It wasn't as massive as their San Diego efforts, but still very impressive that finally brought a Hollywood-style experience within the halls of WonderCon which has historically always been a more subdued show.  Last year's animated "Carnival" setup was a big step up from 2022's "Tiki' booth, which was also amazing.  Was there something equally impressive ready to take that spot this year?  Guess we'll find out soon enough...

We close things out this week with Kwanzaa Bot!  Definitely one of Futurama's more spirited characters, Kwanzaa Bot is still out there selling everybody on a wonderful holiday that helps stretch the season of giving out just a bit more.  It's a holiday that does seem to get lost in the shuffle a bit with Christmas, Hanukah and New Year's kinda swallowing everything up (Seriously, they're encroaching on Halloween now for Heaven's sake!), but it's still a meaningful time and if you've never seen what's on a Kwanzaa menu, you are seriously missing out!

And that was WonderCon 2023!  Definitely a fun time and probably the record for most money I've ever blown at a show, even SDCC!  I scored a BUNCH of vintage comics and some really cool art books and prints.  I even met the creative team behind Animaniacs!  The only downer really was that every building  I went into had the AC cranking even though it was cold outside, leading to me getting a really bad sinus infection.  I eventually got better, but it would've been nicer to not get it at all!  Still, the overwhelming majority of it was fun and the memories are fond.

And that's all she wrote for this week.  The countdown's almost done, but we're gonna go out with a bang as next week, we FINALLY get to WonderCon 2024!  So be sure to come back and see how it all ends!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!