THE 2026 CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN IS HERE!!!

Welcome to June CRAZIES!!!  Summer is here!  Barbecues, theme parks, the start of the San Diego County Fair!  And, of course... COMIC CON!!!  That's right folks!  It is that time of year again and the time has come for some reminiscing about the joys of COMIC CONS past!  But first, we got a little something else to attend to, another tradition that has been going on for close to a decade now...

For nearly ten years, I have taken part in the Team Cul De Sac Art Auction at HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Though I've never had the pleasure to attend in person, I have had the pleasure of donating original art for the auction, and this year is no different!  Below are my offerings for 2026:

Melon Crazy: Pen and ink on Bristol Smooth Paper colored with Olo Markers.

Surf The Dragon: Pen and ink on Bristol Vellum Paper colored in PrismaColor Colored Pencils. (This piece in all took FIVE days to finish!)

For those of you heading to HeroesCon next weekend, June 12-14, now is your chance to not only own some original CRAZY art but also send a swift kick to the rear end of Parkinson's Disease once and for all as ALL proceeds go towards research of eradicating this horrible disease.  Richard Thompson, the creator of the wonderful and hilarious Cul De Sac comic strip, suffered from it and succumbed to the disease in 2016.  Humanity was robbed of not only a phenomenal cartoonist but a wonderful human being as well.  The auction itself in on June 12 and is free for convention attendees.

And now, dear CRAZIES, it is time to proceed with the fun, the laughs, the memories.  I can barely contain myself even as I type, so let's just jump right in!  The year is 2015, the site is the San Diego Convention Center.  Hold on to your Batman Underoos because the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN is a go!  Enjoy...

A sight rarely seen by most who go to SDCC: A near empty exhibit hall!  It's pretty wild to see the place before the booths go in.  Oddly enough, the place actually seems smaller when it's empty, despite the vastness of it all.  This was likely taken in Hall D looking south as the air wall separating Halls G and H is  up in the background of the picture.

Another behind the scenes shot looking east towards the front of Hall D.  The pony banner welcomes you to the eventual Hasbro booth, my home away from home for quite a few years.  From 2013-2019, I hung all their lights and monitors at both their main booth and their former Toy Shop booth.  It wasn't always the easiest booth to do, but the dudes who ran it were really cool and Hasbro always hooked us up with free toys and swag when the show was over.

Anytime is a good time for Dia De Los Muertos!

Will somebody PLEASE get these dudes a shrubbery?!?

The awesome NERD HQ offsite!  Lotta controversy surrounding its exit from the SDCC, but then again there's a lotta controversy surrounding the folks who used to run it now too, so I guess it evens out.  Regardless, it was a fun experience and a great opportunity for those without badges to have some fun at SDCC.

If McDonalds was honest in their advertising.

A cool activation at the Petco Park Interactive Zone!  Can't really make out the logo behind the statue, but it appears to be promoting a video game of some sort.

It's Bill Cipher!  I never watched Gravity Falls, but the young folks seemed to like it!

The Nintendo Lounge!  It was a great offsite once upon a time.

The legendary Hall H Star Wars panel!  After the panel ended, attendees were led to the Pops Site out back for a concert and fireworks show!

The Nintendo booth in Hall A.  Mario Maker was kinda the last hurrah for Wii U and led to a funny story involving my buddy Riki, who was absolutely crushing it on these insanely hard levels that a bunch of wise ass kids made.  So much so that it made news all the way over at the Convention Center!

The FX Lawn in its second year definitely didn't disappoint!

The Xbox Lounge...  We didn't know how good we had it back then!

Lego Conan celebrates the first year of Conan O'Brien doing shows at SDCC!  His shows were so much fun.  I wish TBS still aired them.

My niece Kristen hanging out with some Comic Con Corgis!

Wonder Woman meets Jedi Wolverine, the latter of which technically could happen in Disney's vast expanded universe!

I don't think that's true, but he hasn't been smiling upon them much lately.

You meet a lot of interesting people on the Trolley ride up to Downtown!

Lastly, we close the book on 2015 with a much younger me with my much younger nephew and niece!  They were 12 and 10 then and are now 23 and 21.  I can't even believe they're adults now with lives and interests of their own.  I don't know why time has to fly by so quick, but I'd love to go back to those simpler days, even if only for a little while.

And that was Comic Con 2015.  Definitely one of my best years there in terms of swag and participation!  So much great cosplay too!  The offsites were slamming and still competently ran and the world was a much kinder and more hopeful place.  Kinda bummed I'm running out of pictures from this one.  It was a good show!

Well, that's one week down, but fear not, for we got nine more to go as the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN gets your summer kicked off right!  So be sure to come back and see what we got cooking next!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all 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!

HEY HEY HEY!!! IT'S THE CRAAAAAAAAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!

 

WE ARE BACK CRAZIES!!!  We are just a little over a month away from that glorious weekend that is Comic Con!  Of course, that's still a ways away, but never fear!  The whole reason you're here is to relive past SDCC fun, and I am fully prepared to deliver!  So sit back, put down your Sailer Moon figurines and hold on tight as we head back to 2015 and the wackiness that is the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  Enjoy...

Do you think he's ready to rock?!?

After years of taking up a back corner at the Petco Park Interactive Zone, Adult Swim decided to go all-in and created their own offsite on the lawn behind the Convention Center!  It truly is a lot of fun and among the few offsites that do nighttime programming!

Lydia Deitz has been ready for a Beetlejuice sequel for awhile now!

Woodstock and Snoopy enjoy some downtime at the Petco Park Interactive Zone where you can sort of make out part of the giant inflatable doghouse set up to promote The Peanuts Movie.  They also had beagles up for adoption! 

Pretty much since I've been going to SDCC (Over 20 years now!), this guy has been there, leaning against a pillar, pretending to be Silent Bob.  He never leaves, he never breaks character.  I admire his commitment to the bit, but that's just a waste of a badge!

2015, the year of Mario Maker!  No shortage of irony that the Wii U took off just as it was ending its service life with games like Splatoon, Smash Bros U and the aforementioned Mario Maker being monster hits.  Talk about a late bloomer?!?

The beloved Xbox Lounge, enjoying what turned out to be its final year.  It was an otherworldly experience that was completely immersive.  The next year they partnered up with NerdHQ to sponsor their gaming areas, but it just wasn't the same.  Then NerdHQ got evicted!  The life of an offsite is a fickle one.

Zombies.  They are still a threat to unsuspecting con goers!

The FX Experience at the Hilton Park!  Not always the most ideal location, due to the sun, but FX always delivers big with their offsite.  It's also one off the few offsites you are usually guaranteed to get into at some point during the week!

Johnny Depp seems to really have a knack for playing characters who wield sharp objects!

So back in 2015, Kentucky Fried Chicken set up several statues of Colonel Sanders cosplaying as various things.  They ranged in theme from the weird, like the alien above, to the downright disturbing, like the one they had dressed up like a Sailor Scout!  Needless to say, KFC hasn't been back since.  I'm sure the millions of pics of attendees doing inappropriate things with the statues that surfaced during and after the con didn't help!

The finale of the big Star Wars concert that those lucky enough to get into the Hall H panel were able to attend afterwards for a night of music and fireworks!  I just watched it all from the steps behind the convention center!

This was obviously promoting something.  I just don't remember what?!?

And finally, we'll end things this week with Sexy Skeletor because...  Why not?

And that was SDCC 2015!  Another fun year that saw my brother's kids run me ragged that week!  You'd like to think I'd be a pro at this by now, but if there's one thing I've learned about comic conventions, it's that having a plan is almost pointless because you're likely not going to be able to stick to it.  If nothing else, they're more like guidelines!

Another week down as we head towards our June finale, but never fear!  There's plenty of the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN left to get to, so be sure to come back next week and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!