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We went to the 2014 Salt Lake City Comic Con Fan XPerience in May, and it was awesome for me. I got to meet Elvira and two of the Boondock Saints, plus some other celebrities. This time, it was almost unbearable. I had some fun, but was very disappointed overall for two big reasons:
#1) The amount of tickets sold/people in the building was terrible on Saturday. At one point, the fire marshall stopped people from entering. According to the event site, over 90,000 people attended the Saturday events (our day to be there). The convention center was just not big enough for those numbers. Trying to prove your validity should never take a back seat to fan enjoyment.
#2) The ability to meet and greet with the celebs was all about the heavy cash. Seriously, to get an autograph was one fee and to take a picture while you were standing there was another. One picture to show that you got to meet someone that you admired. The autograph fee was PER autograph. I took some things down to get signed for friends and figured that the story behind them was enough for the celebrities to want to sign. Their "handlers" wouldn't allow it before I made it to the table, so no story possible. It was an assembly line. Yes, they had security guards of sorts, and usually some balding fat guy or teenager that volunteered and didn't have a clue who he/she was fan-blocking. Imagine, if you will, spending your $30 to $70(Stan Lee) to pander to someone's ego and tell them how much you appreciate their work.
So, we drove ALMOST FOUR HOURS down, and then the same distance back, to meet far fewer celebs than hoped.
Here is the much less exciting slide show this time around:
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I had Ernie Hudson sign a NES Advantage. I was disappointed that he didn't seem to recognize/remember it as I was talking about the Statue of Liberty scene from Ghostbusters 2. HE FORGOT. And then I was handed a Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary card after I paid.
Hulk Hogan signed my NES WWE Steel Cage box, but looked at it in confusion, He was as arrogant as was warned. I shook his hand, and he made a point to introduced me to his daughter Brooke. Did I get a thrill out of meeting the wrestling legend? No, but guess what...
I did get the thrill of getting my picture taken with this one!
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_05_50_Pro_zps8cdd20c3.jpg[/img]
Jimmy Hart was great and let me hold the tool of his trade.
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One of the celebrities that was I very anxious to meet was Gigi Edgley, Chiana from Farscape. She was as open and talkative as anyone you might meet on the street. Very cool, and we chatted for over 10 minutes before I remembered that others behind me might be getting impatient. And yes, there is an actual Farscape movie script in existence, straight from the Nebari.
Since the girlfriend bought a Marty POP! figure for me the other day, I grabbed Doc.
And the man that created one of my favorite movies as a kid, The Last Unicorn, Was promoting his national screening tour of the movie. Peter S. Beagle signed the DVD that I already owned for free and we had a great chat about the music from the film and his tour. I look forward to seeing him again in November.
And finally, some items from Artist Row:
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The Mario pixel interpretation is hilarious.
And some other pictures from the show:
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[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/WP_20140906_13_52_15_Pro_zpsd42f8978.jpg[/img]
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Will I attend next year? It is really going to depend on the celebs and if the promoters consider slimming down the tickets sales by a bunch, which won't likely happen.
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It was great experience for the lady and I. Here are some pictures from the two days we spent at the event.
We saw a fully-functional R2-D2.
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A huge Lego city. You can tell my favorite part.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Legos_zpsad39cd53.jpg[/img]
The Karl Urban Q&A.
[img width=700 height=393]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/KarlUrban_zps2e80046c.jpg[/img]
As expected, some Halo fanboys.
[img width=700 height=547]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Halo_zps495b71db.jpg[/img]
The World's Largest Balloon Sculpture. Zag will appreciate.
[img width=640 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Balloons_zps3f8f383a.jpg[/img]
A '66 Batmobile.
[img width=700 height=294]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/66Batmobile_zpsa5a1b1e9.jpg[/img]
A Slimer cake.
[img width=565 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Slimer_zpsa60e9563.jpg[/img]
The SLC Ghostbusters.
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I also had the privilege of meeting some celebs and adding to my autograph collection.
Two of the Boondock Saints. Rocco was awesome! It probably didn't hurt that I was wearing my hat.
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[img width=593 height=706]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/SeanPatrick_zps1a9b95f0.jpg[/img]
I already had my comic book signed by Troy Duffy, the Artist, and Editor. Now I need Norman's. He had planned on making it, but was stuck in Vancouver filming.
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Rocco wanted to sign my hat also, and left a nice note in the book, "Jason, Great meeting you in Salt Lake City."
[img width=700 height=525]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/BS2_zps6c312e73.jpg[/img]
I had Elvira sign my Lynx game, which she had never seen before and tweeted a pic of it while I was standing there.
[img width=700 height=744]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Elvira_zps71989a5e.jpg[/img]
Tom Cook, the lead animator of He-Man, Thundarr, and Godzilla cartoons.
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Michael Stackpole, writer of classic Star Trek games and more current Star Wars comics signed my Star Trek 25th PC cover.
[img width=668 height=684]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/MikeStackpole_zps7b8fd4c3.jpg[/img]
The creator of The Crow, James O'Barr:
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Charles Fleischer, voice of Roger Rabbit.
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I had my Marvel Zombies signed by two amazing artists, Ed McGuinness and Arthur Suydam. As a side note, Ed McGuinness and Michael Stackpole were the ONLY people that didn't charge for an autograph. Ed acted surprised that others were, and Mike was happy to see that I remembered his earlier Star Trek work.
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Since I had to buy something to get Arthur to sign, I chose a Jay and Silent Bob zombies print.
[img width=600 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Arthur_zpsecfcf15f.jpg[/img]
On Saturday, I chose to go cosplay. Why? I had to get my picture in this wonderful memory from my childhood.
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What is this strange time machine? I think mine was much better looking.
[img width=427 height=800]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/EldredgeJ/Tardis_zps191020ed.jpg[/img]
It was a blast and I look forward to the next one in September.
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