MY COMIC CON

I can't really call this "coverage" of the San Diego Comic Con because I covered so little ground last weekend. It was my third visit to "the world's largest pop culture convention," but this year I had to "work" for a change.. hawking my book and making multi-hundred dollar business deals with mega-powerful industry players who often treated me like the Simpsons' Comic Book Guy treats his customers.

That isn't to say I didn't have fun. I've finally learned that it pays to miss a couple of cool panel discussions if it means getting to hang out with friends, and doing so was by far the most enjoyable aspect of my trip. Anyway, I thought I'd share some photos of people and sights that I encountered along my pathway through the convention (which resembled Billy's famous dotted-line journeys in the Family Circus.)

I'll begin with some sweet original Wacky Package art from the Topps booth...

The Flap Jack Toys booth was my home base. This shot was taken during one of the few times it wasn't overflowing with people...


Universal Pictures displayed a life-size Frankenstein's Monster as a reminder to buy their 75th anniversary edition DVD.

Frankie's pink cousin stood outside the Funko booth as a reminder that breakfast is the most important meal of your life.

I got to meet fellow blogger Todd Franklin from Neatocoolville. He and his wife and I had a good chat while trying to avoid being trod upon by attendees in oversized costumes.
And I finally got to meet (in person) Dan Goodsell, well known vintage packaging collector and creator of Mr. Toast and the Imaginary world. I really enjoyed chatting with him and it was neat to watch people get genuinely excited when they saw Mr. Toast for the first time. "Aw, look! It's toast!" was just one of the exclamations I heard. Kudos to you Dan for not only surrounding yourself with the stuff that you dig, but for taking inspiration from it and putting something new and fun into the world.

I think this is the most wonderful piece of "art vinyl" that I've ever seen...

At one point I noticed I was walking right next to Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants (among many other characters) He posed for a photo on the go...

A big highlight for me was getting to hear Shag, one of my favorite artists, speak about his rise to fame. It seems that the moment he put his work out there (by way of a small Californian coffee shop), the contemporary art world instantly embraced him. Not only do I savor his work, but I admire the fact that he's so successful doing what he loves... making paintings based on his childhood influences (tikis, hot rods, skeletons) and taking inspiration from mid-century artists (Jim Flora and other unknown album cover artists.) And he seemed nice too...

Shag recently did some unbelievable art for Disneyland's 50th anniversary. He said they kept asking him to do more, but he told them the next project he's interested in is the 40th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion. I'm pained just thinking about how great that art will be. Anyway, here's his take on Adventureland (how many Disney products depict a shrunken head these days?)...


Finally, on Saturday night I attended this...

A wedding reception? A fancy awards ceremony? You can stop the guessing because you're way off. It's Funko Funday 4, a gathering of folks who are crazy for all things Funko. This was my first time to attend one of these legendary events, and the moment I walked in the front door I was taken aback by the terrific vibe I got. Everyone there had one thing in common.. they were seekers of fun.

I quickly spied a table of booty that would later be distributed as awards for trivia, dance, costume and custom wobbler contests.

I sensed no backstabbing, greedy collector types.. in fact they cheered like crazy when their fellow funatics won priceless prototypes and unreleased Wobblers. Throughout the meal and the contests and the socializing I remained impressed with the whole situation. How many toy makers.. or anything makers put on events like this one where supporters travel from around the world (One guy came all the way from Switzerland) to gather face to face.

I gained a new appreciation for Mike Becker's vision. He didn't just create a toy company, he took the collectors out of their basements and invited them to come together to experience a culture of like-minded folks and have some good, clean fun. Inevitably, lifelong relationships have formed because of it.

Ok, I'll stop raving, but it certainly was a great way to wrap up my Comic Con weekend. And it left me thinking that the whole Comic Con scene is great, but it's even greater when the convention is there to serve as a backdrop to friendship.