THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN IS BACK!!! LOCKED AND LOADED IN 2011!!!

Welcome to June CRAZIES!!!  But more than that, welcome to the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN 2022!!!  It's been three VERY long years folks, but we are finally heading back to the greatest show on Earth, and I don't mean Ringling Brothers!  Can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me and so many others to have this show back.  Obviously, there are still obstacles to be found, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.  We finally got Comic Con back, and it's gonna be a great time!

'Course, the main show is still over a month away, so to keep our appetites wet, we'll be traveling back to a Comic Con of the past for some fun in the meantime.  The year is set at 2011!  Hold on to your Flaming Hot Cheetos, because the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN is a go!  Enjoy...

When it comes to great views, you really can't beat Downtown San Diego.  The buildings aren't too big, the ocean's on the other side and the Gaslamp lights up the night.  This was the first year the long delayed sky bridge finally opened and it has made for some great scenic pics over the years.  This shot was taken on Preview Night and you can visibly see the final touches being put on some of the buildings, including Petco Park.

Gambit always plays with a full deck!

2011 marked the first year of the Petco Park Interactive Zone!  Wasn't quite as big as it is now, but it did feature a few cool freebies.  And a giant inflatable Smurf.  This is your nightmare fuel for the week.

Speaking of inflatables, Jake the Dog came out to play, standing tall over the Cartoon Network booth down in the exhibit hall!  In 2011, Adventure Time was all over the place at SDCC.  For several years even, you couldn't go to ANY con without seeing at least 1,000 Finns walking around! 

In addition giant Smurfs, the Interactive Zone also had mechanical shark riding!  And yes, she got thrown off the shark!

HE HAS THE POWERRRRRRR!!!

2011 also marked the debut of the Nintendo Lounge!  Formerly the Hub Pavilion, the Nintendo Lounge has become a time honored tradition at SDCC, though the last few years they haven't run it quite as well as they used to.  Maybe this year they'll open it back up to its former glory.

The Rocketeer is here!  It's high time this character get the live action treatment again.  Visual Effects have improved substantially since the 1991 original and the market's ripe!  Things might be a bit odd as Disney still owns the film rights despite it being a Dark Horse property, but money has a funny way of making such frivolities go away.

This bus promoted an offsite experience I didn't get to check out unfortunately.  With so much going on at SDCC, it's impossible to do everything there is to do at the con.  As far as the game they were promoting, if New Line and WB are gonna get loose with Tolkien's notes, they should adapt THIS into a movie.  No need for a trilogy.  Just a nice one-off telling a story that is in fact canon about how the Dwarves and Men of the North fought off an army of Easterlings intent on wiping out the few free peoples left in Middle Earth that weren't in the south fighting Mordor.  I think it has potential.

Sorry Cap, but someone needs to pay for the 1990 live action movie!

COBRA!!!  Fun tip for first timers: LOTS of cosplayers gather on the steps behind the Convention Center for photo ops!  Many opportunities there!

Among the last years that Disney sponsored an actual booth at SDCC, they brought the Platy-bus with them!  Hopefully Disney will get over their grudge with SDCC someday and start coming back!

THUNDERCATS, HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Finally, a MUCH thinner (And younger!) me chilling with Jake the Dog!  I don't post pics of myself often, but when I do, I make sure to ham it up!

And that was Comic Con 2011.  A down year for me, not because of the show, but because of some health issues that were hitting very hard and all at once.  Life can be a real bitch sometimes.  There's just no delicate way to put it.  Still, I saw a lot of cool cosplay that year and also saw the start of several new SDCC traditions that continue to this day!  Sometimes you just gotta find the silver lining when you can.

That's a wrap on Week 1 of the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  We got nine more weeks of this folks, so settle in and get comfortable as more past Comic Con fun is coming seven days from now!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN 2019 IS A GO!!!

Welcome to June my CRAZIES!!!  And with June comes many fine things!  Summer!  The Del Mar/San Diego County Fair!  And, of course...  COMIC CON 2019!!!  That's right folks!  We are roughly a month and a half away from the biggest show of the year and anticipation is already setting in!  To help keep our emotions in check, I will once again be delving deep into the CRAZY archives with a look back at the wonderful world of Comic Con!  But first, a little info about something CRAZY happening at another con across the country...

Long time readers will remember that I was a huge fan of the comic strip Cul De Sac by the late Richard Thompson.  I never met Mr. Thompson in person but interacted with him on Twitter a few times and found him to be a delightful person.  His comic was one of the greatest things to happen to the funny pages in a post-Far Side world and I, like many, were devastated when he was forced to retire in 2012 due to Parkinson's Disease, an ailment that he passed away from in 2016.  Even before his untimely passing, Chris Sparks of Team Cul De Sac has helped host a charity auction every year at HeroesCon in Charlotte and this year is no different.  For my fourth straight year, I'll be contributing a piece that will hopefully bring in a fair amount to help give this nasty disease the boot once and for all!  Parkinson's knows no bounds and does not discriminate.  The more research that's done, the better our chances are of finding a cure!  Many wonderful pieces of art will be up for bidding, so if you're gonna be in Charlotte, be sure to stop by HeroesCon on the weekend of June 14-16 for your chance to own some framed, original, CRAZY art!  For more info, click the Team Cul De Sac link here!

And now, as we do every year, it is time to delve into the past.  DEEP into the past!  The year is 2011.  The city is San Diego and the venue is the San Diego Convention Center.  The event, is Comic Con!  Let the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN commence!  Enjoy...

As is tradition, here's another rare look at the show before the show!  Comic Con is a massive undertaking to put together. In addition to stagehands like me, there's electricians, riggers, deco-carpenters, truckers, janitors and a whole host of others that all work together to pull this show off every year!  I honestly don't recall building any booths that year, as I was pretty low on the ladder back then, but this particular shot is in Hall D where the new side of the Convention Center (Hall D) meets the old side (Hall C).  Easiest way to tell the two apart since the signs aren't visible: The support columns are different as you enter the new side from old!  It's also worth noting that the old side of the Convention Center is on the north end of the complex.

Oh boy.  Now THIS was a moment for me!  Weeks earlier, CM Punk had won the WWE World Title and then subsequently "left" the company.  During the Mattel/WWE panel, he "Crashed" the question and answer session as I was waiting to ask a question and the rest is history!  I've covered this before on the blog, but I'll never get over how badass it all was!

Gee, for being the leader of a global terrorist organization, Cobra Commander sure does get caught a lot!  

It's the Borg!  He tried to assimilate my mind, but then suddenly slumped to the floor and began crying.  Everyone's a critic!

BARF!!!  Half dog, half man.  He's his own best friend!  Well, her own.  Barf's being played by a woman here! 

You never know which stars you'll run into on the streets during SDCC.  Even Professor Snape was chilling in the Gaslamp Quarter! 

This R2 unit was kind enough to serve drinks to everyone waiting outside the convention center lobby.  He later let us all use him to play an impromptu game of Beer Pong!

I was briefly held captive by Cobra at the Hasbro booth!  Luckily, I remembered how horrible they are at succeeding, and I simply slipped away after yelling "Look over there!" and they did! 

And now ladies and gentlemen, the REAL hero of Comic Con: The Paletero Man!  Depending on where you live, this is probably a novel sight.  But here in San Diego, you know your hot day's been saved when you hear that bell and see his cart! 

I've been in tighter scraps than this! 

The local hotels near the Convention Center make out pretty well from the various studios that pay them to plaster ads for movies, TV shows and video games along the front.  Does it always work?  Sadly no, as the above pic shows.  Cowboys & Aliens was far from a blockbuster, but I've seen more spectacular promotional disasters, as anyone who remembers the Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow bombardment in 2004 can attest to! 

Would y'all believe that this is actually considered a low-traffic area? 

She's only a good witch on paper.  Look at all Dorothy went through only to learn she had magical shoes that could've taken her home in seconds! 

We end today's post with a prototype that I really wish WWE would release already: A Gobbledy Gooker action figure!  Seriously!  They've released a Shockmaster figure, so why not the Gooker?

And that's all she wrote on Comic Con 2011.  It's a year I remember well for the wrong reasons as my health had taken a rather dire turn just before the show.  Thankfully the main problem is somewhat fixed now, but it was making life pretty damn miserable for me back then.  Still, I had some great moments at show despite my health and got many great pics.  This is likely the end of the road for 2011 pics.  Although I do have more unposted pics, I'm simply starting to run out of interesting ones to post!  Who knows?  Maybe some day I'll do a mismatch post of all the leftover Comic Con pics!  Could be fun.

Week 1 of the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN 2019 is in the books!  Buckle up and hold tight, as we got eight more weeks of this and next week will be no different!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN CONTINUES... TO 2012!!!

We are now more than halfway through the month of June which means only one thing: LESS THAN A MONTH TO GO BEFORE COMIC CON 2018!!!  Excitement is close to reaching its zenith here at the CRAZYVERSE, but work must be done!  So let's just get straight to the pics so I can get to my con prep, sound good?  Perfect!  Enjoy...

Some rare behind the scenes shots here as we take a look at the WB Booth, which was promoting the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that year.  I helped set up this booth, which took a long time to do, but was totally worth it!  Loved seeing all the Hobbit props and previews before anyone else!

GET TO WORK OR YOU'RE FIRED!!!  Benson didn't really appreciate us taking pics of him as he supervised the construction of the Cartoon Network booth.

The CBS Booth!  Nothing really remarkable about it, other than I did the lights for it.  That year was record breaking for me.  In three days, I did lights and video for CBS, The Walking Dead, Kaijudo Riders, Ubisoft Games and Warner Bros!  These days, I usually only get to do two or three booths by comparison.

After many years, a LEGIT superhero finally landed at Comic Con when Super Grover came and interviewed a few lucky fans at the Hasbro booth!

Rather than continuing to beat a dead horse by talking about what a lousy event the Dawn Of The Con "Party" was, I'll instead highlight something positive that came out of it: This really awesome shirt!  One of four designs available that year!  This was the one I got, hence the spotlight.  I'll post the others eventually.  They were cool shirts!

2012 was the year of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy!  Ernest Borgnine, who voiced Mermaid Man, had passed away weeks earlier, and many fans wanted to honor the late Oscar winner.  Was great to see so many tributes.

Tin Fish Square, during its annual NBC retrofit.  The police car and caution tape weren't part of the decorations, but they sure do tie the area together, don't they?  Heck, I'm not even sure if Revolution comes on still!

Man-At-Arms!  That 70's porn 'stache could make Tom Selleck blush!

The Yo Gabba Gabba crew stopped by the Con for a day.  I'm starting to think that the only things necessary to create a show for preschoolers is candy, bright colors and a large supply of LSD!

Steampunk Justice League!  Always love seeing fun variants!

SPOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!  It's The Tick and Arthur!  Now if only we could get Deflater Mouse, Sewer Urchin and American Maid to show up this year!

 My niece, Kristen, wanted to hang out with the Justice League.  With any luck, she'll be making her cosplay debut this year!

The Xbox Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel!  This was a fun offsite, despite needing a badge for it in later years.  Hopefully this year, Microsoft will bring it back for us to have more fun at.  Couldn't hurt to have another option to help ease crowds.

We'll end this week's post with a frighteningly detailed Earthworm Jim cosplay!  EWJ was a great game and an awesome cartoon!  Kinda surprised/thankful that this one hasn't been rebooted yet.  Some things are just too good to do twice!

And that was Comic Con 2012!  Such a wild five days with so many awesome things happening!  Of all the cons I've done over the years, this is one that I really wish I could relive again.  In addition to winning a Gypsy figure for knowing the lyrics to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme, I also met Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob!  Each Con is special in its own way, but the 2012 addition was one of the greatest ever.

And that's all for today.  We'll be back next week to wrap up June in the best way possible: By continuing with the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  So be sure to come back for some more pics and memories!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!

BURNING THAT COMIC CON OIL IN 2011!!!

Welcome back CRAZIES!  It's Week 2 of our 2018 COMIC CON COUNTDOWN and we are plowing right into this thing!  With so many great memories to look back on, it's very hard to sort out a select few for posting, but I've done my best at selecting and think y'all will get a kick out of these pics!  But first, I'd like to take a moment to remind folks of something important happening this Friday...

As I mentioned last week, I have framed art available for the Team Cul De Sac Art Auction this friday, June 15, at HeroesCon in Charlotte.  There will be MANY great pieces of art on sale and all for a very worthy cause: Sending Parkinson's Disease straight into the fires of Mount Doom!  Details of the exact when and where of it all can be found on the Team Cul De Sac Blog, as well as their corresponding social media pages.  I thought I'd take a moment today to describe the inspiration behind this year's piece.  For those who never read the comic (And seriously, you're missing out if you haven't!), Cul De Sac is the tale of a little girl named Alice and the wacky situations she and her family and friends always manage to get themselves into.  Among the running gags is her neurotic big brother, Petey, who isn't sure if one of his classmates, a bespectacled boy named Ernesto, is real or not, despite almost EVERY other character having encountered Ernesto at some point.  I felt it'd be funny if Ernesto, who did address his realness in the comics, pointed out to Petey that his own sister's antics are far more surreal than his own habit of popping up out of nowhere.  Indeed, Alice had a wacky streak to her, which is what made her such a lovable character to begin with.  I do hope this piece finds a good home and brings in a nice bid.  I was and still am a great admirer of Richard Thompson's work.  It's an honor to contribute.

And now, it's time to head back to a not-really-that-much-more-simpler time.  The year was 2011, the place was the San Diego Convention Center and the event was Comic Con.  Hold on tight to your Superman Underoos folks.  We're hitting the ground running!  Enjoy...

Got a very rare shot here: Comic Con Load In!  Hard to say exactly which hall it is, but if I had to guess, it's the back of Hall E looking diagonally towards the left to where Halls D and C meet.  Booth placement hasn't changed much from 2010-on, so along the front of the halls in this pic (From left to right) is where the Shonen Jump, Lucasfilm and Hasbro booths would be.  I took this pic seven years ago and the columns are blocking the hall signs, so sorry in advance for not being able to exactly place things.

I believe its a rule for getting a badge that you HAVE to take a pic of the logo banner through the center of the circular column support.  Frankly, I got so many of these, I could make a coffee table book out of them!

What better way for a father and son to bond than through cosplay?  The family that cosplays together stays together!

Speaking of fathers and sons, The Jones' decided to stop by and find the greatest treasure of them all: A secret path into Hall H!  No word on if they ever succeeded.

My first year as a pro, so I decided to wear a tie for the occasion.  Sadly, not everyone agreed with my fashion statement!

An all too sad reminder of why you don't cast Nicholas Cage in a superhero movie.  This was actually the first year that the famed Gaslamp Quarter got in on the festivities.  It's only gotten bigger since with 5th Avenue being shutdown completely and many restaurants getting in on the act.  There are even some hidden and not-so-hidden offsites dwelling within!  Also a great spot to score swag and get some great cosplay pics for those who couldn't get badges!

Adventure Time made it's presence felt in 2011 with several impromptu parades!  Although Cartoon Network premiered the show at the con the year before, 2011 was the first year they really did anything with it at comic cons.  By then the show had become a hit, so it made perfect sense to do so.

San Diego Comic Con brings out the mariachi in all of us!

Another con tradition: Quailman!

Cheetara!  This one's for all the old school Thundercats fans. We'll always have the memories and the DVD boxed sets.

It was one and done for the Hub Network Experience in 2010, as 2011 made way for what is now a proud Comic Con tradition: The Nintendo Lounge!  For seven years now, Nintendo has rented out the San Diego Ballroom of the Marriott next door to the Convention Center and turned it into a gamer's paradise!  And best of all?  It's all 100% free!  No badge needed!  And believe me, I know people who DO have badges that miss the entire con just to hang out in here!  Nothing's set in stone yet, but all sign's point to the Lounge coming back for 2018, so keep an ear out!

The steps between the old and new sides of the Convention Center.  Sometimes it's a great spot for cosplay pics, sometimes, it's a great spot to catch a break.  In recent years, security's curbed access to it, so not just anybody can hang around there anymore, sadly.  Still, you can usually find a great cosplay or two, all things considered.

HE HAS THE POWERRRRRRRRR!!!

Since Solo: A Star Wars Story recently came out, I thought Sci-Fi legend Billy Dee Williams would be a great dude to end this week's post with.  Not sure how much he wanted for autographs, but it was likely way the hell beyond my budget for that year!

And that was the year 2011 for Comic Con.  Honestly, it wasn't one of my better shows as my health had taken a pretty severe nosedive in the weeks leading up to it.  Thankfully, things started turning around for me afterward, but it was a tough week to get through.  Even though offsite events had started the year before, 2011 was really the first year that San Diego Comic Con as we presently know it happened.  The Nintendo and Xbox Lounges both debuted that year, the Petco Park Interactive Zone debuted that year, albeit much smaller than it would come to be, and the Gaslamp Promotions also began in 2011.  I felt it was a very kind gesture on the part of all these various companies and studios to give some free entertainment to those who couldn't get in.  I've said it many times before and feel it's even more true now as the free offsites grow in number and scale: There is so much to do outside of the con that you really can make a week of it without a badge.

And that's all she wrote for this week.  We'll be back next time with a visit to Comic Con 2012, but minus any potential time-traveling ramifications!  Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!