THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN: OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH MORE OLD!!!

 

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  With any luck, I'll be at opening day at the San Diego County Fair today, or the Del Mar Fair for us old timers!  I've been looking forward to the fair for weeks now as the urge for Chili Fries, Deep Fried Twinkies and White Oak BBQ has got my mouth watering!  But more than that, I just love the exhibits and gardening displays, not to mention's the animals and collections.  It's just a fun place.  Speaking of fun, there's something else on the other side of the country that's gonna be a LOT of fun...

 

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 this 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, it is time to continue our trip down memory lane as we head back to the recent past of 2016.  As the fog clears, you'll recognize Downtown San Diego and the San Diego Convention Center.  Ah yes, I see it now!  Cap up those Code Red Mountain Dews folks, because the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN is on!

It isn't uncommon to see celebrities walking the streets of San Diego during SDCC.  Even Big Red himself-Oh my God!  If Santa Claus is doing what it looks like he's doing, he is definitely going on the Naughty List!

It is always a good idea to bring a snack with you to COMIC CON.  You burn a LOT of calories throughout the day!

He may not be as powerful as Silver Skeeter, but Quailman is definitely a badass!

The movie kinda sucked, but this cosplay was cool at least!

Now THAT is a hell of a hat!

Yes folks, that IS Paul Stanley of KISS hanging out at the Entertainment Earth booth!  They had some really cool toys and exclusives, but their swag distribution left a lot to be desired sometimes.

Even as a baby, Jack Burton's Porkchop Express was tricked out!

Always upping the ante, the FX Lawn once again wowed con goers with their amazing activations, including a zipline!

BOO!!!

A very long shot of the Petco Park Interactive Zone, and the infamous Mr. Robot Ferris Wheel that wasn't promoting Mr. Robot but totally was!

OOOOH YEAH!!!  MACHO MADNESS AND HULKAMANIA'S IN THE HOUSE!!!

One of the things I really miss about the old Hasbro booth were the super cool toy displays they'd build every year.  This one previewed the the battle scene from the then-coming Star Wars film, Rogue One.  I know Disney-era Star Wars has been a mixed bag at best, but man, that movie did not disappoint!

And finally, we close out this week with some cosplay that the Master would certainly approve of: Torgo!  He seems trustworthy...

And that was Comic Con 2016!  I do remember this being an extremely busy year at the show, but a very fun one as well.  It was kind of the final time that all the offsites had an open-door policy of just letting people come and go as they pleased.  They never really jammed up when they operated like this, but they sure do now with all these stupid reservation systems!  Hopefully in the future, they will look back at what worked in the past.

Well, that's another week down, but believe me, we got plenty more coming with the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  So be sure to come back and check it out!  Until next time, 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!

CLEARING THE JUNE GLOOM WITH THE CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN 2024!!!

Well, another month is about to fade into the past, but this time it's a welcome deal as it means we are THAT much closer to Comic Con 2024!  And since we are all getting more and more excited as we are now less than a month away, I won't dilly dally any further!  So hoist up them britches and chug your Red Bulls because this time we're heading back to the much more stable year of 2016 as the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN plows on!  Enjoy...

If she knew then what she knows now, she would've gotten up much earlier for parking!

Okay, seriously now, who WOULDN'T trust this guy?

A glimpse of the former Tin Fish Square being set up for NBC's offsite activations as a Conan Trolley arrives at the station.  His shows were so damn funny.  The day David Zaslav gets fired will be a happy one for many.  And for those thinking that's bad taste, the man will never go without.  

The Dawn Of Justice Batmobile.  Although I do consider this one a step up from the Nolan Batmobile, it still doesn't beat Tim Burton's Batmobile.  That one's definitive in my book!

The ill-fated Entertainment Weekly ConX offsite.  Although it wasn't bad by any means, it was just too far away for most con goers to walk to.  Oddly enough though, their nighttime crowds were pretty impressive.  Perhaps that's how they should have marketed it?

There's big trouble in the little Pork Chop Express!

The Petco Park Interactive Zone as it's being built on preview night.  Note the arrival of the "Not-promoting-Mr. Robot-but-totally-is-promoting-Mr. Robot" Ferris Wheel.  People still hold a grudge over that thing!

Photo ops at the FX Experience never disappoint!  Even if the shows sometimes do!

Cartoon Network's inability to properly inflate this Power Puff Girl should've been the first red flag that the reboot series was doomed!

Nighttime fun at the Adult Swim Carnival!  So glad they finally came back last year.  Mechanical Hot Dog Riding is quickly becoming a tradition at SDCC!

The Suicide Squad offsite.  Didn't get a chance to do it, so I honestly don't know how cool it was.  If it was anything like the movie, might be wise that I skipped it!

Ghost with the most babe!

Say it with me: ROO-FEE-OOOOOOOOOOOH!!!

And finally, we'll end on the Silver Surfer.  If you got the bod, you might as well rock it!

And that was SDCC 2016!  Another fun year and another one where my niece and nephew just ran me ragged!  Still, we had so much fun at this one.  It's one of my all-time favorite years at the show.  My lasting memory will always be all these people wanting pictures with me just because I had a funny shirt on at Preview Night! Sometimes the truth is stranger than the fiction!

Well, that's a wrap on the month of June, but we're keeping the party going and just in time for the 4th of July!  So be sure to come back next week as celebrate the birth of our could-be-worse nation with more past fun in the CRAZY COMIC CON COUNTDOWN!!!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!