COMIC CON... STILL GETTING OVER IT!!!

Well, Comic Con 2025 has come to pass.  And it was...  How the Hell should I know?  It' still June as of this typing!  Y'all know I queue these up well in advance!  I think it's probably a safe bet though that by the time y'all are reading this, those who attended will ALL be feeling pretty worn out!  Y'all are also likely to be going through HUGE Con withdrawals right now too!  So, let's just get right to the pics, okay?  The setting is exactly one year ago in Downtown San Diego!  Take those last rolls on your D&D campaign because the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown is entering the homestretch!  Enjoy... 

Two legends finally meet!

Castle Grey Skull's looking pretty hungry there!

Looks like Hades had some of that charm left!

Man...  Can't even begin to tell you how many quarters I fed into a few of these Ninja Turtles arcade cabinets back in the day.  My brother and I probably put a few Roller Skate Land employees through college!

The incredible Abbott Elementary offsite!  The purist in me doesn't quite get why this show would even be at Comic Con as it doesn't fit any of the represented genres, but I can't complain about a well-run activation that saw quick lines and everybody leave satisfied! 

Last year marked 25 years of Nickelodeon bleeding SpongeBob Squarepants dry!  I love old school SpongeBob, but man, it is time to put him out to pasture already!

The Avengers Ferris Wheel!  I didn't go on it and if memory serves, you had to do something involving Google to be able to ride it anyway.

I think they're trading books...

The Downside of the Schwartz ain't too picky it seems!

The Bear Activation inside of the FX Zone at the Hilton!  Don't let its emptiness fool you, this spot had the most coveted swag of the con!

Some screen-used masks from the more recent Planet Of The Apes films were on display at the aptly-named offsite!  This activation did not get enough credit last year.  Much like the Abbott Elementary carnival, it was extremely efficient with short lines and high turnaround, not to mention, a live hawk for photo ops!  I'm not even a fan of the movies and I still enjoyed the experience!

Mothra on patrol outside the Convention Center!

Riddle me this?  What's green and red and easily slumped over?  This Riddler cosplayer a few minutes later!  Seriously, it was hotter than the 7th Level Of Hell that week!

And finally, PeeWee Herman hit the streets of the Gaslamp, hoping to collect enough spare change to hitch a ride to the Alamo!

And that was Comic Con 2024!  I'm not gonna lie folks, I honestly don't remember much about it.  The weeks leading into the show were among the busiest of my life!  In a span of about five weeks I worked four massive shows, pulled a muscle in my ribcage, got a severe sinus infection and remodeled ALL the bedrooms in my house in between it all!  Needless to say that by the time we finished packing up Nickelodeon's gear and I got home, I just plain crashed!  I had reached my limits.  Hopefully, next week's post will be a little more fruitful in terms of my experience at this year's show.

Well folks, that's all she wrote for July and the penultimate edition of this year's Countdown, but fear not!  I wouldn't end this year's proceedings without a look at this year's show, which is coming next week!  So be sure to come back and check out the finale of the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown 2025 as we start August off right!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WONDERCON 2025!!! IN LIKE A LAMB, OUT LIKE A LION!!!

*SIGHS*  Well, another WonderCon has come to pass.  It seems as soon as I was checking into my hotel I was already checking out!  I hate this deal where time seems to speed up after we hit the age of 20, but now is not the time to ponder the space-time continuum.  Y'all came here to see some Con pics, and I intend to deliver!

It all happened in such a blur.  Even as I type this it's hard to believe a whole week has already passed since I came home!  But good times were definitely had as the following photographic evidence will attest.  So, for the final time in 2025, cap up those Code Red Mountain Dews, wipe off that Cheeto dust and pre-wedgie those Spider-Man Underoos because the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is blasting off!  Enjoy...

 

Believe it or not I get this cosplay!

I never thought that anyone would!

Cruising the halls on a wing and a prayer...

This guy's Greatest American Hero costume is that good!

Jedi Barbie!  I'm sure it'll happen if it hasn't already!

Seeing more Don Bluth characters cosplayed in recent years and I love it!  Dragon's Lair was such a groundbreaking game too, so it's nice to see Dirk the Daring get some love from the fans!

Sadly, the legendary courtyard fountain at the Anaheim Convention Center was not functional during this year's show.  It's often the spot for some jaw-dropping pictures, so hopefully by next year, things will be flowing again!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  THIS WRESTLING COSPLAY WAS BOSS!!!  OOH YEAH!!!  I don't really recall Scott Steiner having any real catchphrase, but Big Poppa Pump cosplay is definitely a new one for me!

Faith and begorrah! It's Captain Ireland!  Celebrating another thorough ass-kicking of Hydra agents with a victorious swig!

For months really, fans were excited about the return of Funko to WonderCon after opting to skip last year's show.  After the incredible Tiki Bar and Carnival setups of the recent past, expectations were understandably high!  So did they deliver?  Well...  They had variety if nothing else.  Funko decided to ditch the themed element and just went with a VERY scaled down version of the "Funkoville" setup they've been doing at SDCC since 2022.  I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but this really paled in comparison to their San Diego setup, and the Anaheim Convention Center has the room to do something pretty nifty.  Granted, Funko's past Anaheim experiences were also smaller in scale, but they still delivered very fun setups that had everyone buzzing!  This just seemed like a rushed popup shop.  Still, they had lines around the corner all weekend, so fans were still pleased, and in the end, that's what matters most.

I gotta say, this puppet show was a LOT easier to follow than that Dungeons & Dragons puppet show I went to last year!

"Quiet down now!  Will the real Indiana Jones PLEASE come forward!"

My old pal Matt Eargle came to the show and decided the time was right to reenact the finale of Dr. Strangelove!

I don't know what Until Dawn is or who the cast are, but moments after this photo was taken, a zombie burst through the wall and scared the living hell out of all of them.  I imagine it's on YouTube.

This Shrek cosplay group was definitely one of the best that I saw all weekend!  Mascot Lord Farquaad in particular was just expert level awesome!

These RX Pilot Droids are far more fun to fly with than C-3PO ever will be!

I'm not sure what this thing was supposed to be, but it moved and sang in Japanese.  It was too quick for my camera even!

Apparently this guy is a YouTube celebrity.  I marveled at his retro tech while he and his pal marveled at mine, telling me my tiny, nearly 20yo Casio Exilim camera is valuable.  I thought they were blowing smoke until my pal Matt told me it legitimately is!  This is why I horde my old tech folks!

Max and PJ totally see eye-2-eye with Powerline!

Tired of her monsters constantly failing her, Rita Repulsa made one of her Putties giant and sent it after the Power Rangers!

After the fallout of the disastrous AMC Theater chain's Dune popcorn buckets, the Sandworm decided it was time for a break and strolled around WonderCon!

And now, we end things this round with my favorite cosplay of the whole con:  Carrie and Bo "Bandit" Darville from Smokey And The Bandit!  One of the all-time great comedies, it's pure stupid fun and I've long wondered why nobody ever does cosplay of it?  Well, this year the Con Gods smiled upon me and now I can say I've seen it in person!  NOW SOMEBODY GIT DAT SUM BITCH!!!

And that was WonderCon 2025!  A very fast weekend with far more cooperative weather than last year, though there were some rain scares leading into the week.  I spent WAY too much money, but then again, what is life without a little fun?  It's okay to spoil yourself every once in a while.  Just don't let it become a habit!  Gotta say though, the amount of money some of these vendors were charging for old comics is downright criminal.  I'm talking 50yo books with torn covers and missing pages that they're selling at grossly inflated prices.  It's one thing if the book is mint, but if it's practically falling apart, they shouldn't be charging no more than a $1 at the most.  Still, I'm happy with my haul and eager to return next spring!  It was a wonderful weekend of good friends, good food and good times!  Only 354 more days to go...

And that's a wrap on the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown 2025!  I know, it's kinda sad.  It was a fun seven weeks, but things have to return to normal for a bit.  But it's not all bad.  We're definitely less than a year away from next year's Countdown and if that weren't cool enough, we're a mere eight weeks away from the return of the CRAZY Comic Con Countdown!  And believe you me, I got some awesome pics lined up for that one!  In the meantime, we got some art posts coming up and they are all fun and, of course, CRAZY!!!  So be sure to come back next week and see what we got going on!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

IT'S ON!!! THE CRAZY WONDERCON COUNTDOWN 2025 IS A GO!!!

 

WELCOME BACK MY CRAZIES!!!  ARE YOU EXCITED?!?  I SURE AM!!!  Okay, okay, I gotta get a grip on myself, but how can I not be excited?  WonderCon is coming!  One of the best weeks of the year for me is now just a month away and I can hardly contain myself!  But, I must as we have posts to do.  But what better way to tie ourselves over then by revisiting some of the fun from WonderCon's past?  I see no need to drag this on any further, so let's set the Wayback Machine to 2017 and city of Anaheim as we prepare to scroll down and relive the fun, the comics and the cosplay!  Hold on to your Batman Underoos folks.  The CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is on!  Enjoy...

It's hard out here for a Wookie!

Not even a questionable creator can douse the love fans have for the Hogwarts crew.

Just can't get a straight answer out of this one!

Android 18 has no time for nonsense!

Just ain't a WonderCon without the R2 Builders fan group!

Emma Frost was kind enough to pose for pics, but then telepathically froze everybody and robbed them!

This was merely a piece of a costume that took the team (Yes, TEAM!) of handlers close to an hour to get all the pieces past security and then assembled in the courtyard of the Anaheim Convention Center!  The devotion some of these cosplayers have towards their craft is incredible!

Optimus Prime towers high above the exhibit hall crowd.  Apparently so does my arm!

Blue Oyster Cultpool needs more cowbell!

I tried to ask this fella if he was enjoying himself, but he just kept smiling and waddling away!

At WonderCon, and really ANY comic con, it's a good idea to take a moment to catch your breath every once in a while.

Little Master Chief!  Now THAT would made for an interesting Harvey title!

I'm sure Roger Rabbit will be okay with Jessica playing pat-a-cake (Patty Cake) with HIM!!!

And finally, we'll end our trip back to 2017 with a little taste of Halloween from the Sanderson Sisters!  It's wild how popular this movie is now despite being an utter flop when it came out.  In all fairness though, that's largely Disney's fault for releasing a Halloween movie in the middle of Summer!

And that was WonderCon 2017!  A very fun year after having skipped the previous show due to family plans.  Had such a great time that weekend with my pals Riki and Matt.  We did everything and scored some amazing swag and dined at some fine establishments.  This is one I wish I could go back to for real.

And that's a wrap on February 2025 and the first week of the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown 2025!  But fear not!  We got six more weeks of this, so you know we are gonna get March off and running on the right foot!  So be sure to come back next Wednesday and give it a look!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!