Emerald City Comic Con - 2010

Another year, another comic convention here in the great metropolis of Seattle.

This show was the biggest ever, in terms of not only the guest list but also the sheer number of people who attended it.

There is just w-a-y to much to cover in this post, so I will simply touch on a few of the high-points of my weekend.

Friday morning started early... like 3:50 a.m. early!.... as I woke up 'cause I couldn't sleep anymore. I had to be up to catch a ride to Seattle so I could check into the hotel, then it was off to the airport to greet guests as they arrived.

I was at the airport with the Maimed Man from around 9:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m.

We worked in tandem: he kept an eye on the flights and which baggage claim to meet them at, while I coordinated with the drivers outside and gave the guests their show packets. It was a great system and went very smoothly with both of us there.

We met a lot of the guests, including (but certainly not limited to) Erin Gray, Lou Ferrigno, and Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!

I also got to meet Terry Moore & his wife Robyn as they arrived. They remembered me and gave me hugs to say "hello".

It was a long day and very tiring, but after leaving to come back to the hotel we then went out to dinner with a bunch of the other ECCC volunteers.

Saturday morning, I got up early again and started taking my stuff over to the convention center so I didn't have to lug it there at the last minute.

It was about 6:30 a.m. when I walked up to registration and there was already a line of people waiting to get in. (The show didn't open until 10:00 and they still had 3-1/2 hours to go)

Then I got some breakfast at the Dragonfish with C. Burnham before going back to the convention center for the day.

People were still setting up their booths right until the time the doors were opened for the attendees.

I made my way around the show floor getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Then 10:00 rolled around and the people started pouring in.... literally!

Here's a pic of the crowd right before the doors opened:

And here's what it looked like on the inside just a few seconds after they opened:

There were three main places that people were making a beeline towards.

One was to get in line to meet Stan Lee.

Another to meet Leonard Nimoy.

And the third was at the opposite end of the building to meet Geoff Johns.

Those three areas quickly became a mass of bodies and chaos.

It took some wrangling, but eventually we got volunteers to manage those areas as best as possible.

As for the show floor, it was PACKED!

So much so that I had a difficult time getting around from place to place.

Still, I managed to weave through the crowd and make my way to the guests and bring them stuff they were asking for.

I ended up at the end of the day with blisters on two of my left toes and I was sore all over just maneuvering through the crowd and being on my feet all day.

Originally there was to be a "meet-and-greet" with Stan Lee right before the show opened for a few of us volunteers, but Stan got the the show floor too late for it to happen and then his line was overwhelming. I asked a couple of the promoters if there was even a chance of getting to see him, but it looked doubtful. So I gave up on my dream of getting to have my picture taken with him.*

I was busy the entire 8 hours of the show (not to mention being there a few hours early), but finally it was 6:00 and everybody was shooshed out for the evening.

A bunch of volunteers met up for dinner, but I went out with a friend and we met up with some of the comic writers from the show.

Along the way, I ran into Filip Sablik (the publisher at Top Cow) and Steve Rolston among others.

I was having a good time, but the evening began to catch up to me and I began to fade. So I bid them all a good night and headed back to my hotel room to try and sleep.

Sunday morning came and I got up later than I expected.

In fact, I had just enough time to take a quick shower before getting to the convention center and had to skip breakfast.

On my way, I was carrying an ice cooler on one shoulder and talking to my mom (who came for the show) with my other hand. The guy in front of me was nice enough to open the door and hold it for me so I could get in. It turned out to be none other than Joe Quesada! The Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics!

I showed my mom and her husband around for a bit, and then I had to get busy as the doors were about to open again for the second day of the show.

Day two is always (THANKFULLY!!!) a bit slower, and I managed to meet a few new people and find out more about the books or art they were selling. I also was able to get a couple of sketches I'd been hoping to get this year and I picked up some new books to read.

The day went a lot easier with fewer attendees on the show floor, but my blisters from the day before began giving me trouble. I wrapped up each toe with a band-aid and continued to power on for the day.

As it drew closer to the end of the day, the crowds started to die down and people started to get their stuff ready to pack up.

Over the intercom speakers, they announced that this year's show was the biggest ever with over 14,000 people having attended it! (Although, I heard a little later that the number might have even been larger... so once I get the final total I'll let you all know)

The post-show dinner party took place across the street about an hour and a half later.

Hotness & I showed up a few minutes apart but mingled for a bit and then ended up sitting at different tables.

Since she works with the media guests, she tends to hang out with a lot of the volunteers from that group.

I am usually working with the comic book professionals, so I always end-up sitting with them at dinner and catching up.

After a couple of hours, they kicked us out of the resteraunt and sent us downstairs to hang out in the bar. Aaron Douglas (who was a guest at this and last year's shows) showed up and goofed off for a bit with all of us.

Then we headed out to another resteraunt for a few drinks and nibbles before settling down for the night.

We stayed at the hotel an extra night, so it was nice not having to rush home after staying out late the night before.

I got up Monday morning and had breakfast, then after Hotness woke up I took her to get something to eat.

There were a few guests in the hotel lobby when we got back and I got to speak with them and introduce them to Hotness.

Among them: Tim Bradstreet and Mark Texeira, both of whom Hotness has always enjoyed art they have done.

We finally headed back up to the room and packed up our stuff and made the drive back home.

It was a long, but very fun and eventful, weekend.

Much more so than last year's. (I was fighting off a cold last year, and by the end of the show I had no voice left and could barely walk anymore)

I'm resting up and looking forward to my trip to Calgary in a little over a month.

Lots of cool stuff happening then and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

* Oh yeah.

I had given up on ever meeting Stan Lee, when at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday I got a text message that said: "Hustle your butt down to the photo booth right away!"

I got there and found out that I was going to get the chance to have my picture taken with Stan after all!

Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I did get to shake his hand and tell him what an honor it was to meet a legend like himself. Then 3 seconds later, our picture was taken and I was out of there and back on the floor helping guests.

The photo printer broke down during the show and I was not able to get my picture before the convention ended. Luckily I know the photographer and will be getting it in the mail soon, though.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something "Blu"

With the wedding coming up shortly, things are beginning to take shape.
I made Hotness's bridal bouquet and I'm taking care of the music.
I also need to get some appetizers whipped up (I have the stuff for one, but still trying to decide on what the other will be), and I'm working on the decorations... although we aren't going crazy with that. Just something to make the place look more "wedding-like".

I have my suit all ready and Hotness picked up her dress last weekend, so those are out of the way.

This is our last weekend to "take it easy", as next weekend will begin the final hours to the event.
Friday night we have a wedding shower to go to. Saturday night is the ballet. Sunday I will be getting the chairs and dropping off the decorations. Monday I'll be getting the appetizers made and setting up the chairs and decorations I dropped off earlier. Tuesday will be... let's see... um....
Oh yeah! The actual wedding.

As the day approaches, we have been asked by different people, "What would we like to have as a wedding gift?"
Hotness and I have different opinions about this.
I feel that we really don't need anything, as we've been together for so long and already have the things we need. Plus, with the economy the way it is, I don't want people to feel they HAVE to spend money on us.
Hotness feels that if people would like to get presents, we should let them. Some people really want to express their happiness for us by getting us a gift, so we shouldn't stop them and make them feel unappreciated.
So we're basically leaving it up to the individual as to whether they want to buy a gift, but it's certainly not necessary.

Now, having said that, we received our first wedding gift in the mail on Friday.
It was from my good friend Imperfect and his wife.
They got us a Blu-ray disc player!

I've been on the fence about getting one.
I was perfectly happy with the DVD player we currently had and didn't see the need for spending more money to upgrade just yet. But on the other hand, I did have a nice, new HDTV that wasn't living up to it's full potential and with Blu-ray discs being released at lower prices than standard DVDs, it was beginning to sway me over.

I would've been happy to wait until our wedding day to open their present, but due to some packaging SNAFUs, we decided to open it early.
We opened the box and... TAA-DAA!!! A beautiful, Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player was inside!
So yesterday, I made a trip down south to Fry's to pick up the HDMI cable (and a Blu-ray disc, 'cause... Heck! Why not?) as well as some LAN cable to connect it to the interwebs.

I got back home and proceeded to hook it all up.
There was an update for the firmware, so I took care of that right away and then afterwards I went about setting up the adjustments (i.e. video output, audio, brightness, on screen language, etc...).

Unfortunately, my surround sound DVD player did not have an HDMI input.
That would have been the best option. So instead, I had to use regular co-axial plugs.
But to be totally honest, I can't see that it makes a bunch of difference to my ears. My "home theater" isn't that big and my ears aren't that discerning when it comes to sound. So I'm happy it works.
I did have HDMI inputs on the TV, so I plugged the Blu-ray player directly into it.

Then I went and tried out a few standard DVDs to see if the picture quality was any better.
I noticed it was a bit sharper, but almost a bit "over compensating", so I'll have to tweak the settings a bit more (or just use the regular DVD player).

Then I put in the new disc I bought. I got "The Blue Man Group: How To Be A Megastar Live!"
This had special significance on a couple of levels.
First: Being our first "Blu-ray" disc, why not get the "Blue Man Group"?
And Second: This was the same concert tour I went to see with Imperfect a few years back, and since he got us the player it seemed appropriate.
This was by far a H-U-G-E difference in visual quality. I really didn't expect it to be, but I was amazed. Even Hotness said "Wow, that's really clear and what an amazing picture!".
So I'm totally glad to have it have it and especially happy that they got us such a nice gift.
Thank you both again!

In other news....
Nothing new to report in the job-search, although I hope to have something exciting to say in the not-to-distant future.

The Emerald City Comic Con is only a few weeks away. I'm excited and nervous at the same time for it to happen. There are so many cool new guests (Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy) and awesome returning guests (Terry Moore, Whilce Portacio). It's also expected to be the BIGGEST show yet, which means there's going to be a LOT of hard work to do while it's happening.
Last year was a tough one, so hopefully this year we'll be better prepared. Hotness and I are sharing a hotel room for three nights (instead of two, like in previous years), so that'll help in not having to travel back right away after the second day of the show. We can relax one evening and take our time leaving on Monday.

Babysitting is still happening quite a bit and despite catching the occasional "bug" from the kids, has been a lot of fun. Being "Uncle Ferretnick" is a blast.

Well, that catches us up again for now.
I apologize for the sparse postings, but until something happens that's worth "blogging" about, I tend to just let things slide on here.
With the wedding and conventions coming up I should have more to talk about.

Ya'll be good now!

It Takes Guts

One of the projects I've been trying to do, but never seemed to get around to, was replacing the 'guts' in the toilet in our bathroom.
It's not like it's a difficult job. I've done it before when we lived in Lynnwood and I did it at a friend's place when they had a leaky toilet.
So I knew what was involved, I just never took the time to start doing it.
Until today, that is.

I knew it was going to be a hot one outdoors today (right now, my computer weather widget says it is 90 degrees F).
I wanted to try and accomplish something, and figured an inside project would be much better than an outdoor one.

I moved the rack (for holding extra toilet paper, tissues, and various other items) that sat over the "throne", and started in.


Here's the old insides of the toilet. Kinda gross.

The toilet wasn't leaking, so it's not like there was a problem with that.
What was happening was that sometimes it took more than a couple of flushes to....
er... "get rid of the evidence", if you catch my meaning.

I figured a new set of parts would fix that and make life (especially mine) easier.

This is the valve and float that was in there originally.
It was just a matter of turning off the water and un-threading the nut under the tank. Then this whole assembly just came right out.

And here is the new valve and float. It's more of a one-piece unit and eliminates that tacky, black round 'balloon'-type float.

I put it in the tank. Adjusted the height for the water level. Threaded the nut on it. Then hooked up the water hose underneath.
Taa-daa!!
Just like new and now it flushes better.
No more "surprises" for the next unsuspecting customer.

Total amount of time doing the project: about 30 minutes.
"Why didn't I just do it sooner, if that's all the time it took?", I hear you asking.
I don't really know. Lazy I guess. At least it's done now.

---------------
Last evening, Hotness and I had dinner with Elwood and his wife at their place.
With the weather being so warm lately, I suggested maybe something to eat that didn't involve cooking.
He suggested a cold cut and cheese platter and I thought that sounded fantastic.
He also made a wonderful pasta and smoked salmon salad.
I made a couple of salsas (corn and verde) and some fixin's for mojitos and we were set.

After we ate, we sat around and talked for bit then we broke out my JLA Monoploly game.
I had gotten it as a gift almost 10 years ago, but had never played it.
Elwood got to take the 'virgin' role of the dice to break it in, and after that it was GAME ON!

Hotness was buying up everything she landed on and ended up winning the game when Elwood and his wife had to bankrupt after landing on one of her spots.
That left me and Hotness in the game, but I'd been having a bad run of obtaining anything useful so I defaulted.
(here I am, stuck in jail)
After that, it was time to go home.

Another fun evening with both of them. It's getting to be a habit.

*** Update 07/27/09 ***
I forgot to mention that we got a guided tour of the "Toy Story" studios while we were there.
It is a sight to behold in all it's geeky majesty.
If you have not had the fortune to see it for yourself, your life as a nerd is certainly lacking!
Seriously though, it's really impressive. He has a LOT of action figures (NOT dolls!) and I was amazed that he had them all displayed without having to rotate some of them into the room while others had to be in storage.

------------------------------
Today (aside from my toilet project earlier) I watered plants on my deck.
Here's how things are coming along in the ol' container garden area:

These are my cantaloupe vines.

Here is one of the two cantaloupes I'm growing.

Here's the other. This one is the larger of them.

I'm enjoying this warm weather (even though we could really use some rain soon), because these plants really dig it when it's warm. At this rate they should mature just nicely and be very tasty when they are fully ripe.

These are my cherry tomatoes, just starting to turn color finally.

And this is my Roma tomatoes (I have two of these plants growing)

Looking forward to making some homemade sauce with these!

(Add maybe even dry some of them in the sun for pizzas! Yum!)

-------------------------------
Finally, one last photo for you:

This was sent to me on my cel phone yesterday by Jedigeorge.

He took this at San Diego Comic Con.

This girl is dressed as Julie Martin from Terry Moore's comic "ECHO".

(Now scheduled to be a major motion picture, by the way!!!)

Rock on girl! Show the Terry Moore love at the convention!

Right now, Hotness and I are heading over to our neighbor's for pizza and TV.

And that's my weekend.

Hope you all had a good time as well.

Calgary Expo 2009

After a late night, I got up and got ready to hang out downstairs in the lobby yet again.
I was helping to get the guests onto shuttle to the Expo before heading over there myself.

The shuttles took a while to get everyone there, as the traffic to the Stampede Grounds was already pretty busy with attendees showing up early. (read: parents dropping off their geek spawn at the doors)
Eventually they all got there okay though.

I ended up showing up after the show had opened, which sort of put me at a disadvantage right away.
I was in charge of guests services (getting water, food, etc.. the same thing I normally do at the conventions) but by showing up late I didn't know who or where my helpers were at.
I immediately set out checking with the guests and letting them know that we'd be taking their lunch orders shortly.
When I came back around a few minutes later, I discovered that somebody had come by and started bringing drinks to them.
I then found the two guys who were working in the same area and we set out to take care of lunch.

Saturday was extremely busy. (Good for the show... not so good for me)
Food orders were taken but because there were so many people, they vendor started running out of food and was making substitutions.
This was okay with most of the guests, but of course you have those few who think more highly of themselves than they should. I smoothed over the problems as best I could and continued to carry on.

The day went by quickly, though.
I managed to get a picture with Liana K. again this year:

And talked to a few of the guests.
I wanted to get pictures of costumes (there were A LOT of them) but I just didn't have time.
No Slave Leia's this year that I saw, but quite a few female heroes (i.e. Wonder Woman, Huntress, Supergirl, etc...).
There was even a guy wearing a "Black Spider-man" costume. I didn't get any pictures and really... you should thank me for that. The costume was form-fitting and didn't leave a lot to the imagination. It took a lot of self-confidence to walk around all day wearing that.

Everybody seemed to be having a good time despite it being so crowded.

Near the end of the day, I was invited to dinner by Kandrix and Laurie, along with Mike Kunkle, Robyn & Terry, and Technogreek.
We went to dinner at The Keg and had.... steak. (I ate a lot of steak during this trip!)
It was actually much better than the one I had a couple nights earlier.
The conversation was lively.
Technogreek regaled us with a yarn that involved sleep-deprived trips, getting lost in Los Angeles, bullet-proof designer vests and parties on yachts.
Mike talked like a pirate throughout the meal and did an impersonation of Robyn which was quite hilarious.

Near our table was a couple who were celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary.
Mike thought it would be a nice idea to sketch something for them, but since nobody had any paper he used a salad plate from the restaurant:

Robyn Moore (r) Mike Kunkle (l)
We also gave the couple an art book from the previous year and two tickets to the Expo for Sunday.
They seemed to appreciate it and had a good evening.

We stayed out until about 10:30 p.m. Terry had to get back to the hotel to try and finish some sketches, so we all paid our bill and left.

I was still wound up and couldn't sleep, but got into bed anyway.
I put in earplugs and covered my head with a pillow (as I typically do... don't ask. It's just a habit).
Around 1:00 a.m. I heard what sounded like an alarm.
I took out an earplug and listened. Sure enough it was an alarm. The fire alarm for the hotel.
I listened a little longer and thought to myself, "I don't hear any screaming or doors slamming. I'm not going to rush outside until I do" and laid back down.

I slept for about 2 hours and woke up.
I just couldn't sleep.
So I got dressed and went for a walk around the block at O'dark thirty in the morning and took a few pictures:
Proof that Canadians are nicer people
They said "please" even on their sign

This could've proven to be fun
or horribly, horribly wrong.
It was closed, so I guess I'll never know

I thought it might help me get tired, but the temperature was just about freezing and it only served to wake me up even more.

Sometime around 5:00 a.m. I walked to a 24-diner and had breakfast.
Then I sat in the lobby and read a book until I started getting sleepy again.

I went up to my room, laid down on the bed (fully clothed) and started to doze off... just as the alarm started going off. Oh well. No rest for the wicked, eh?
I stayed there for a bit as Kyle (my hotel roommate) got ready. Then we both went down to the lobby to head over to the convention.




Crap!
I really didn't mean to drag this out in so many posts but I keep running out of time.
I'll get back to this soon.
Rest assured, though. Nothing else exciting is happening my my life right now so you aren't missing anything.

Friday Before The Expo

So now we're at Friday.

Everyone from the Seattle had arrived and was busy doing something to get the show ready.

I got to spend the day in a hotel lobby greeting the guests as they arrived and handing out their badges.

It's a tough life, I know. But somebody had to do it.

The hotel was nice and there was lots of artwork on the walls.
That's probably whay it was called the Hotel Arts. Duh!

This piece was about 15 feet long and 5 feet high. I wanted to bring it home for Hotness, but it just wouldn't fit into my suitcases.

They also had cute signs on the doors for the restrooms and the stairway:




I'd been in Canada for about 2-1/2 days and I needed to exchange the rest of my American cash into the local currency. Also, I really wanted to go to Tim Horton's and get a coffee from Canada's version of Dunkin' Donuts.
As luck would have it, I had about an hour to kill before guests started to arrive, so I walked about 8 blocks from the hotel and found both a bank AND a Timmie's right next to each other.
I proceeded to swap my money for Canadian loot and then got myself a regular w/ two sugars and one cream. It was every bit as good as they say.

I walked back to the hotel with... well, let's just say I was carrying a LOT of money.
I had also exchanged Technogreek's and his brother's money as well. So I was holding on to some serious bankroll* in my pockets.
Luckily I wasn't mugged on my way back. When I got to the hotel, I stashed the cash away and went back to the lobby to perform my duties.

I told the desk clerks who I was and what I'd be doing so they wouldn't freak out about a strange guy hanging out in the lobby accosting their guests all day.
When I told them that some of the BSG actors would be showing up, I became a celebrity. Two or three times during the day hotel employees would come up to ask me about meeting the actors.

Guests trickled in a few at a time. Other volunteers were picking them up at the airport and shuttling them to the hotel where I'd greet them.

I got a text message from one volunteer who said "I'm bringing Terry and Robyn right now".
Oh snap! It was my day. Terry Moore and his wife Robyn were going to arrive shortly and I got to see them when they arrived. *swoon*

They walked into the hotel and as I was greeting them (thinking they may not remember me from ECCC back in '07) Robyn reached out and gave me a big hug and Terry said "It's great to see you again Tom!". *double-swoon*

I gave them their badges for the show and told Terry that I had some Dr. Pepper chilling in a fridge in my room upstairs. I'd bring it for him to the show and whenever he needed it, it'd be ready.
He was really happy about that and then he handed me his art piece for the Expo Art Book which was to be auctioned later at the show.

I took it up to my room for safe-keeping as they went to their room to get settled.

Shortly after that, Steve Rolston showed up.
I met him and told him that I had some Red Bulls that would be nice and cold and ready for him in the morning on Saturday.
The other guest next to him looked at him and said, "Chilled Red Bulls? How do you rate getting that?!"
Steve said, "He takes care of me at the conventions" and then smiled.
I like making the guests feel comfortable and it's fun knowing some of their personal tastes.

It was getting well past noon and it dawned on me that I hadn't had anything to eat so far today.
Just the Tim Horton coffee.
Thankfully Wade Schin walked by me in the lobby and said, "I know of a great place here in town that makes these terrific cupcakes. You want me to pick one up for you?"
FOOD AT LAST! "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thanks," I said.

He came back a few minutes later and I scarfed down a chocolate cupcake in practically no time at all.
Then he got out his laptop and hung out in the lobby with me keeping me company which was really nice.

Pretty much the rest of the day was just sitting and waiting until guests would show up. I'd give them their stuff and then it was more sitting.

I got a chance to talk to Terry for a while later in the afternoon, which was nice. He told me that the art I commissioned from him was one of his favorite pieces to work on.

Later that afternoon, I went to the convention center at the Stampede Park and helped out a little while also familiarizing myself with the show floor.

Not much else happened after that.
There was an impromptu get-together at the bar in the hotel.
The Seattle group got together and went out to dinner, but nothing very remarkable about that.
The food was palatable but that was about it. It was mostly just fun hanging out together.

We got back to the hotel and I went to the bar to chat with the few people still hanging around.
It was me, Wade Schin, Matt Stewart, and Dale Berry. We shared stories for a bit then decided it was getting late and we'd all better get some sleep before the show the next day.


Wow!
Okay, this is getting kind of long-winded so I'll wrap it up here for now.
I'll be back with exploits from the Expo.


* Also now known as "nagiri". Ask me when you see me and I'll explain it to you.

Greetings From The "Other" West

Just a brief post to fill you all in on what's been happening.

Tuesday: flew out in the late afternoon with Technogreek from Sea-Tac headed for Calgary.
The flight went fine until closer to the Calgary airport. We hit some turbulence and I started getting queasy.
Made it off the plane and after a few hours of feeling nauseous, I started to feel better. Slept well and woke up the next day feeling much better.

Wednesday: A whole lot of nothin', really.
There were incidental things to do, but not a lot. Ate breakfast around noon. Ran some errands.
Looked over the convention schedule and made changes. That kind of stuff.

Thursday: Busier day. The rest of the Seattle crew came into Calgary around 1:30 p.m.
We all started stuffing badges, mounting signs, organizing exhibitor packets, framing art (for the art auction), etc....
That night we all went out to dinner at a steak restaurant. Yummy meat! I also had a pomegranate mojito. Woo!
Got back to the house (not staying at the hotel yet) around 2:00 a.m. Yikes!
Oh! Did I mention we had dinner with James Kyson Lee? Yeah. We did. He's a nice guy. Kind of "struts" as he walks. It's funny to watch.

Today: packed up my stuff as I am actually checking into the hotel today.
I'm also spending the day in the hotel lobby greeting guests (Oh.. like Jewel Staite, Terry Moore, Margot Kidder, Bruce Timm..... expecting to meet about 100 different guests as they check in)
I've got to give them their badges and program guide for the show.
I also have to get to a bank before they show up, as I'm starting to run out of my Canadian money I brought with me. I need to exchange the rest of my American cash.
On a side note; also hoping to hit a Tim Horton's this morning as well.

Anyway, I gotta wrap this up. Heading out to the hotel in a few minutes and I gotta give this laptop back to it's rightful owner.
I'll update again if time permits.

Oooooo.... Must Have

Only 8 more weeks to go before I take off for for the Great White North.

Over on Terry Moore's blog, he posted this picture of the art he submitted for the Calgary Expo sketchbook:

The orignal art will be up for auction during the show.

Guess who's going to be bidding on it? (Wish me luck!)

"David's Story"

Everybody knows I loves me the Terry Moore stuff!
So today on his blog he posted up a link for a video based on a storyline he did in "Strangers in Paradise".
The acting is a bit 'wooden', but it's an independent amateur film so you get what you get.
But overall, I think they did a good job filming it.


In case you aren't familiar with the book; David is one of the main characters of the story and this chapter (titled "David's Story") talks about how he killed somebody but was cleared of the crime due to his family's ties to the Yakuza.
He realizes how he has ended a life which had dreams and plans but is now going nowhere because of his actions, and the guilt gets to him.

"Strangers in Paradise" is one of those comics that I can't recommend enough to anybody who hasn't yet read it. And "David's Story" is the tale of one person's wasted years and their trying to atone for earlier mistakes.
Really good stuff.

Katchoo

Over on Terry Moore's blog he's got a picture up of a couple of actresses that have a strong resemblance to his characters, Francine and Katchoo.
I think they're pretty close but just not quite "it".

However, for whatever my two-cents are worth, I think that Portia De Rossi would make an awesome Katchoo if they were ever to cast a show (or movie) about the book.
What do you think?

Portia / Katchoo


Katchoo / Portia

Yeah? No?
Well... it's just my opinion.

Wednesday Was Officially Terry Moore Day

Woo-Hoo! New comics came in yesterday!
And with them, not just one new comic by Terry Moore, but TWO!!
Issue #5 of ECHO came out (and if you haven't been reading this, what's wrong with you?!? You can pick up the trade in the next week or two) and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #1. Both in one day, can you believe it?!? (And we still have Runaways to look forward too real soon!)

But wait! That's not all.
Not only did I get two new books, but I also got a whole bunch of TM goodness that my buddy Technogreek picked up for me while he was in San Diego for the convention a couple weeks back.
I got both of the latest prints he had for sale (and still for sale on his website if you want to get them also):

ECHO (print 2)


Strangers In Paradise (movie-style print)

I also got the new ECHO T-shirt.

And last but not least, I got the sketchbook that Terry had at his booth:

This was cool on many levels. Some of the sketches are from character designs he did for the Katchoo & Francine busts that Clayburn Moore Studios did a while back. Various doodles and characters revisions for his books. And also some of the commision pieces he did a while back.
Including the one he did for yours truly:

Right there, smack dab in the MIDDLE of the book is the sketch that he did for me!
The one I have the original of hanging at my house and posted about quite a while ago.

*Sigh!* Yes, I am a "Moore whore" and I freely admit it.

Other than that, Hotness joined me that evening to the Comic Stop and we hung out and chatted with friends that showed up that night as well.

After a while, dinner was starting to sound pretty good, so about 5 of us headed over to Red Robin for burgers and were soon joined by a sixth.
We sat around and talked, ate, and had a good time.

Then we headed over to Technogreek & Qtilla's place to check it out. (Hotness & I hadn't gotten to see it yet)
We were awed by the geek splendor that adorned the walls and bookcases.
We got a grand tour, Hotness checked the plumbing, and then we needed to get going home as it was already after 9:30 p.m.

We got to the house and discovered that something (most likely a bear) had gotten into my birdseed container and knocked stuff all over the yard. So I picked it up and all was well with the world again... until this morning when the neighbor's garbage was tipped over and stuff was all over the road. (Again, probably a bear as it is a HEAVY garbage container and we've been hearing about sightings in our neck of the woods)

And that's about it for now. I think we're all caught up on what's happening. Still no worms for the compost bin yet, but I'm working on it.

OH! One last thing.
This is an oldie but I promised Qtilla that I'd post it since she hadn't seen it yet:

You Know What's Cool?

Getting unexpected surprises like this:

My buddy Technogreek texts me today on my phone and asks if I'll be stopping in at the Comic Stop tonight after work.

"Sure", I told him.

"Cool. There's something for you at the store tonight. I hope you like it", he replies.

Since he's always going to conventions, he usually brings back nifty posters, sketches, toys, etc. for his friends.

I've gotten a more than a couple of Terry Moore limited prints from him this way, so I'm thinking "What could it be this time?"

Turns out it was this awesome "Thank you" sketch from Steve Rolston!

(He even posted it on his journal.)

I've known Steve since the first Emerald City Comic Con and so I see him every year as I'm running around doing my volunteer thing.

This year he was at the Calgary Expo and ECCC so I got to see him twice.

I kept him going at both shows by bringing him Red Bull energy drinks and this was his way of saying thanks.

I even got a bonus with this sketch, as he left some of his DNA on it.

(Now I can clone him and get MORE sketches! Bwa-ha-ha!)

Thank you Steve for this "Totally Radical" ninja Turtle sketch! I love it!

Cowabunga!

---------------------

Technogreek got a pretty nifty sketch from Steve also!

Sweet New Ride

I always have to play 'catch-up' when the weekend gets busy and I can't blog and be up-to-date with what's been happening.

So to recap:

Friday: Slow day at work as usual for a day before a long weekend. It's nice 'cause you have a chance to catch up on stuff that's been lingering on your desk, but it's always a pain when we get back and all the new orders start pouring in again. *sigh*

After work, I hightailed it home to meet Hotness and then drive back out to Everett to meet some of the other volunteers from ECCC and watch "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

How was it, you ask? Well if you haven't yet seen it, wait and see it during a matinee.

Hotness thought it was w-a-y too over the top. I thought the same, although it was enjoyable.

I think it was a bit too heavy regarding the history of the skull and all that, and there were plot holes all over the place. Still, it was nice to get together with friends and see it. Just wish it had been everything we'd hoped for.

Saturday: We got up to go run some errands and not far from our house was a pre-yard sale.

I love yard sales and Hotness loves meeting the neighbors, so we stopped to check what they had. (It was a "pre-yard sale" because they hadn't actually priced anything yet. They were pulling everything out and if anybody wanted to buy anything they'd sell it for a good deal. The actual sale is next weekend.)

I picked up a bunch of random stuff, Hotness shared neighborly info and then we were off again on our way. Home Depot, grocery store, etc... that kind of stuff.

We got back home in the afternoon and did some yardwork. (Which didn't amount to much since it was later in the day). She mowed and I weed-whacked until we decided to go inside and call it a day. We had to get up early the next day, so it we didn't want to overdo it.

Sunday: Got up EARLY (like 5:30-6:00 a.m.). Got ready and left to go to Montesano, WA to check out (and potentially buy) a used riding lawn mower. One of Hotness's co-workers had told her about his parents getting a new mower and was selling his old one for dirt cheap. We've been looking to get a riding mower for about 5 years now, so this was a great opportunity to snag one for almost nothing.

A hell of a long way to drive (like 2-1/2 hours one-way) but we now have a riding mower to tackle our yard with and hopefully keep it under control. (pictures coming up later in this post!)

It was late afternoon when we got back and we had been invited to a bonfire and BBQ at a neighbor's house.
We had a little bit a time to kill so Hotness went to the barn while I replaced the outdoor lights next to the front and back doors. They stopped going 'off' in the morning and were on all the time.

Plus they were dual-intensity lights (meaning they were dim until something moved in front of it, then they would get brighter. Couldn't use flourescent lights in these, so they were adding to the electric bill alot)

I replaced them with standard 'dusk-to-dawn' lights and put in flourescent bulbs. Now they only come on at night and go off in the morning and the light output is much brighter but I'm only using 1/3 the electricity. Hopefully this'll make a difference on our bill soon.

Then... off we went again and hung out talking and eating until after 10:00 p.m.

We had a great time and met some new friends.

Monday (today): Slept in a little and then Hotness went to the barn to tend to her horse, while I got around to visit my buddy Dug and his family.
I hung out with them, had breakfast (mmm... Apple Jacks!) and then played with my niece for a while , as he set up his big scanner so we could get more of my art copied and online.

We played with Polly Pocket and put a puzzle together.

After his scanner was up and running we got these pieces scanned in:

My buddy Technogreek has picked up a few Terry Moore prints for me at the other conventions he's gone to. Here's the latest ones I've gotten;

This was a limited print that Whilce Portacio gave me after volunteering at the ECCC this year;

This was a print a got last year at ECCC. It's Joe Linsner's "Dawn" as Kali:

I hung around for a little bit longer and then headed back home.

It was supposed to turn to crap weather today but it actually warmed up and was really nice.

Nice enough to work in the yard all afternoon... using our 'new' riding lawn mower!

Yeah baby, check it... this is what makes all the ladies swoon for:

And Hotness trying not to fall off:

We worked and mowed and weed-whacked and sweat in the sun all afternoon.

The grass is so tall that even with a couple of nice days of warm weather, it's still too wet to cut it properly. I had to go over it with the weed-whacker just to get it ankle-high. Now if it'll just stay nice for a few more days I can go over it with the mower and should be able to keep it manageable.

Finally we both ran out of energy and went into town to get ice cream and call it a weekend.

And that's brings us to now.

Hotness is in bed asleep and I am bloggin' it up to keep you all informed of the latest news.

Got Meme'd

There's a first time for everything (and this year seems to be filled with a bunch of them... more on that soon).
I got tagged for a meme recently and so I'm supposed to come up with something along the lines of the following theme: (heh! "theme" "meme"... weird.)

What creators who are usually associated with a certain company (or, indeed, medium) would you like to see writing someone else’s title? For example, would you want to see JMS on Hellboy? Which DC character should Bendis have a crack at? Should George Pelecanos write Batman?

Well me start out by saying that I don't have any dead-set particular favorites when it comes to writers or artists. I kind of take them for what they are at the time, and good or bad I'll read the books. Some I enjoy more than others, be it for the art or the writing, but it really depends on my mood at the time.

While I'm currently enjoying Gail Simone on 'Wonder Woman' I'd like to see Phil Jimenez on it again.
He was the writer that was on the book when I began reading it and really brought a lot of depth to the character in my opinion. Sure he's a bit wordy with the dialog, but unlike Bendis I didn't mind reading lengthy conversations between characters. They actually SAID something.

I'd like to see a limited series or one-shot of 'Hellboy' written by Bob Burden. The character lends itself to the strange on a regular basis, and I think Bob's surreal approach to comics would be highly entertaining.
Maybe even with Andy Kuhn on art duty.

Jeff Parker on "Avengers". Either title. 'Mighty' or 'New'.... or heck, even BOTH!
I have nothing personal against Bendis (I really enjoy "Ultimate Spider-Man"), but c'mon! Give other people a chance to write would ya? I first discovered Jeff via his own book "The Interman" (available in trade from your local comic book shop, by the way) and it was fantastic. Then I read "Agents of Atlas" and "Spider-man & The Fantastic Four" plus the all-ages "Avengers" comic.
This guy writes solo characters or teams and can keep the dialog of each within character.
I think he'd bring some much-needed fresh blood to these titles.

Matt Wagner on "Punisher". Yeah.
Jeez he already writes about a criminal mastermind who can't be taken down by anybody (not even the damn Batman!), so how cool would it be to have a Punisher from the other end of the spectrum? (Not to take anything away from Matt Fraction, though)

Okay, I've tried not to make him the first person on EVERY book, but I had to get to him sooner or later; Terry Moore.
I think everything he works on is gold.
I'd like to see him on "Birds of Prey" again. (He did a 3-issue stint quite a while back). He has a very unique perspective and can write strong female characters. Also, I'd like to see his take on the "The Spirit". That would be something.
Or maybe Terry's art on "The Spirit" and Jeff Parker writing?

How about Joss Whedon on "Titans" or "Young Avengers"? I'm not a Joss disciple but that ought to be a nice change of pace to see how he'd handle those books.

How about Robert Kirkman writing "Jonah Hex"?
I'd like to see him do something out of the ordinary. No zombies or superheroes this time. Just a mean old ugly gunslinger in the old west.

And finally, I'd like to see Warren Ellis take a stab (literally!) at "Green Lantern" or "Green Lantern Corps." And maybe even the "JSA".

So there.
That's my 2-cents. Let me know what YOU think.

ECHO

Terry Moore's latest creator-owned book is coming out in just a few months. (In fact, March I believe is when it'll be on the stands).

Being the "Moore Whore" that I am, I thought I'd help plug it on here to get more people interested in it.

His last series, "Strangers in Paradise", was a surprise hit with a H-U-G-E following both here in the States and internationally.

I was latecomer to the series but once I started reading it, I was drawn into the story immediately.

Terry is a fantastic writer who gives a lot a depth to his characters and his art is very clean and easy on the eyes. (Not cluttered or overly detailed).

"SiP", as it was affectionately known by fans, dealt primarily with a couple of high-school friends who had grown up and the turns-of-events their lives took just trying to find their place in the world and to find love.

No super-hero battles. No space-ships. No zombies.

Just a 'real life' kind of book that was great for all types of readers.

His new project, ECHO, is about another female lead character but this time she happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This one has more of a Sci-Fi vibe to it, and with Terry's skill at characterization it looks to be another great story. Here's the solicitation for it.

Need more convincing to get it?

Here's a 5-page sneek peek at the first issue!

You'll want to pre-order it from your local store to make sure they get it.

It's an extremely difficult task, so I'll give you detailed instructions. Are you ready? Good!

1) Walk into your local comic book shop

2) Ask someone behind the counter to order you a copy of "ECHO" by Terry Moore

3) Wait until it shows up

That's it.

I know that'll probably be hard, but I think you all are tough enough to handle the job.

Honestly, though. I really can't recommend his stuff enough.

He is a master crafstman when it comes to writing comic books, and his art is without a doubt some of the best out there today.

It's A Sad Day

Well, today was the first new issue of Spider-Man since that last horrible story-arc wiped-out all the history on him*.

And this was also the first day I have ever stopped buying an issue of Amazing Spider-Man on purpose.
(Oh, I've missed an issue here and there, but it wasn't intentional)

The "Brand New Day" issue hit the stands. The fanboys reviewed it online. And the general consensus was: "Well, it's really a good issue, but it sucks about how they had to get to it."

I really like the creative teams they picked out (both artists and writers).
I am very happy they are going back to the mechanical web-shooters like he originally started with.
I'm especially happy that his whole secret identity is still a secret again.
But I can't support the title any longer, all things considered.

I can take comfort in the fact that I can still read Ultimate Spider-Man (at least until the "Ultimatum" storyline craps all over it).
And I will pick up Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane once Terry Moore takes over the writing.
I can always go back and re-read my back issues (and man, do I have plenty of them!).
And not to mention, there are also the collected hardcovers of the old back issues from the 60's.
So it's not like I can't get my Spidey fix when I need one.
It's just that I had to give up on the the very first comic book that made me come to appreciate and enjoy them in the first place.

I want to give a big congratulations to every fan who has dropped ASM because of the this whole mess.
Hopefully by voting with our dollars we can show them it wasn't worth it.

And those fans who bitched and complained but are still getting the title?
Yeah, thanks to you too. Way to stick to your guns and show your "support".


* And the history that got wiped-out?
1) regained his secret identity
2) lost his organic web-shooters and went back to having mechanical ones
3) lost is 'spider-spikes' that shot out of his wrists (WTF?!?)
4) lost his 'enhanced spider-sense' (Again.... WTF?!?)
5) his powers are no longer part of some totemic, spider-god, passed-down-through-the-centuries-yadda-yadda
6) Harry Osborn is back (Once dead, but actually just "in rehab")

New MySpace Friends

Now you kids that were first on my "friends list" still hold a special place in my heart, but I just got a few more that really made my day.

Weird Al Yankovic
KMFDM
Terry Moore

... are all friends of mine on MySpace.

Yeah, you might be thinking "Aw Ferretnick. Some of those folks just have an assistant that does all that for them."
Not so my friends. I know from personal experience that these three handle their MySpace accounts personally, so it's really neat that I can say "They're on my friend list".

Plus, I know Terry personally and I've seen Weird Al and KMFDM in concert so it's not like they are just random people that I added for the fun of it.

I know I'll never be as cool as Technogreek. I just wanted to toot my horn a little.
Anyway I'm done braggin for now, regular blogging will commence soon......

Bed For Sale

Just a heads up to anybody* reading this who's in the market for a new bed...

Hotness & I are selling our old bed and getting a new one.

I've got the old bed up on Craigslist.com, but here are a couple of pictures of it...

We're getting the new one delivered tomorrow, and it's going to look like this....

And yes, that IS my Terry Moore picture on the wall in the first two photos.

* When I say 'anybody', I mean local. NO out of state / country buyers.

And bring cash!

11/25/07 UPDATE: I took the listing on Craigslist.com down today. We already have a buyer for it. Yay!