Phoenix Comicon 2013

What a great year for Phoenix Comicon! There were tons of guests that interested me.  The cast of Babylon 5 was there for their 20th anniversary. John Barrowman, of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Arrow fame was present. The cast of a new web series- Star Trek Continues came. (Grant Imahara of Mythbusters plays Sulu) There were Walking Dead panels, Farscape panels, Jewel Staite of Firefly, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig of the original Star Trek, Amanda Tapping from Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Sanctuary, Dean Cain from Lois and Clark, and what comicon would be complete without Wil Wheaton of Star Trek Next Generation, Stand By Me, Big Bang Theory, and Eureka. And that's JUST the TV/movie personalities.

 Nichelle Nichols, "Uhura"-  Star Trek

       Wil Wheaton

  Babylon 5, 20th anniversary panel

I went to Awesome Hour with Wil Wheaton, and he had my sides splitting. The show was basically his stand-up, followed by a Q&A session. It was supposed to be a PG-13 show, but it might have leaned a little on the R side. That's ok by me, though. My 13 year old blushed a few times, but the "spicy dick milk" story had us all laughing so hard, we may have ruptured organs.

The Babylon 5 panel was just fantastic. It was soooo nice to see the group back together. The tributes and shared memories of the cast members who have passed on was very touching. J Michael Straczynski told a great story about creating a fake storyline for G'Kar, wherein he undergoes a spontaneous sex change and ends up in bed with Lando. He remained committed to the prank up to and including having Andreas Katsulas fitted for prosthetic "narn boobs." I wish they had actually filmed some scenes. What a riot! Mira Furlan gave a moving speech about how the show was a blessing for her after she fled Yugoslavia. When she felt she had lost her home, the cast of Babylon 5 made her feel welcome. She talked about how the fans themselves really made her feel that America was now "home."

   Mira Furlan, "Delenn" talks about what B5 meant to her.

And then there was John Barrowman. That man is a bundle of energy. Hilarious, sexy energy. He got a phone number from a Marine, discussed his possible stripper names, and had the BEST photo ops.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phxcc_actor_photos/sets/72157633668318208/page2/
Check them out. I don't know how someone stays that chipper after hugging hundreds of strangers. (and being picked up by them, butt squeezed by them, etc.) He's definitely a good sport about it.

   John Barrowman gets the crowd excited for photo ops.

There were great cosplayers- everything from Star Wars to Steampunk.

And a few surprises. :)

The only downside was the size of the crowd this year- bigger than ever. Holy insanity, Batman!
I haven't seen official numbers yet, but my friends and I were guessing it might have hit 60,000. (Edit- the numbers are out now, and it was 55, 331, so I wasn't too far off.)
This was the first time that there were lines to get into lines. But things went pretty smoothly, despite the crowd. Even a fire alarm on Sunday didn't cause nearly as much havoc as it could have. So kudos to the staff and volunteers. They had a huge mess to deal with and they managed it beautifully.

I had a great time, as always. Heck, I got to meet and talk with a personal "hero" of mine- Ed Edmunds from Making Monsters. If you haven't seen this show on Travel Channel, check it out. It's a great look into prop-making and haunted houses. (I love Halloween, so this is right up my alley)

  me with Marsha and Ed Edmunds, of Distortions Unlimited, and Making Monsters

I can't wait to see what Phoenix Comicon has up its sleeve for next year. This con just keeps getting better and better!


Check out my pics on Flickr!  http://www.flickr.com/photos/angniks/sets/72157633729844900/

It's a much nicer time to be weird, it seems to me.

When I was in 5th grade I had a pair of officially-licensed, Punky Brewster high tops. I liked them a lot. I liked the show a lot. I liked them right up until the first day of school.

It was made abundantly clear to me via my middle school peers that I was probably some kind of loser-freak for wearing such dumb shoes.
 These are the shoes. Well, these are a pair of the shoes that somebody else was selling on e-bay. Mine were newer when they were...new. These are pretty beat-up. Mine were rad. Tubular, even.

Well, they were to me at the time.
I may not have had the best taste in clothes.
 I'm pretty sure this was the same year I wore that Roger Rabbit sweatshirt everywhere.

Look, I was a nerd.
I still am.
I have a Cthulhu t-shirt and the matching slippers now.
I make steampunk costumes.
I am into just about every fantasy, science fiction, or horror thing that is out there.
And yes, I will proudly wear the shoes.

But it is easier now.


I used to get teased relentlessly for my little fan-girl obsessions. Now, the type of kids who picked on me when I was in middle school, are the same kids sporting fake "nerd glasses" and pretending to know who Spock is.
And I have mixed feelings about that.

On the one hand, I want to yell, "You aren't a real nerd! Have you ever been shoved in a locker? Huh? Have you ever had exactly 0 friends? I EARNED my nerd stripes, baby. I suffered for them."

But then again...I'm a parent now. And here's something I've discovered. Nerd+Nerd= Nerdling.
Yes, my kid is a nerd.

And although the kids at school don't always understand her Sergeant Frog armbands, or know who she was for Halloween (Ahsoka Tano) she gets FAR less crap for this than I did. And when someone DOES make fun of her Dr. Who shirt, she just brushes it off and keeps on wearing it. She loves what she loves, and that's it.

I did too. In 5th grade.

After that year, I had had enough of being picked on every day. I began to hide who I really was. I would only talk about the things I loved if someone mentioned loving them first. I became a closet nerd. My sense of self-worth was somewhat tainted by the notion that everything I loved was inherently stupid or worthless. I tried to dress like everyone else. It wasn't enough. You can take the nerd out of the Punky Brewster high-tops, but you can't make her date the captain of the football team. So yeah. I would often get picked on. I mean, I was still awkward. I was still president of the French Club and vice-president of the Thespian Club. Heck, just being IN the "Lesbian Club" was enough to get you teased. (Yes. Thespian rhymes with lesbian. You bullies are sooooo clever.)

So, I thought I would always be sort of an outcast. But then, seemingly overnight, all of the stuff I love is cool.
When did this happen?   Was it the rise of the superhero blockbuster movies? Lord of the Rings? Big Bang Theory? Glee? All of these things?

Who cares? My daughter gets to live in a world where she can love Star Wars, Star Trek, anime, Dr. Who, Firefly, steampunk, LOTR, Spiderman, Batman, Cthulhu, and particle physics. And MOST of the time, that's ok with people. Sure, there are still bullies. But there are anti-bullying days. There are comicons where she can see that there are plenty of other people out there, just like her. There are geeky parents who tell her "To hell with the jerks. Do what you love."

And there are the nerd-wannabes.
So sure, a part of me wants to go all hipster on them. "I was a nerd before it was cool."
But you know, what? They are just kids. They want to fit in. Right now, this is the fashion. Really, those of us who are naturally geeky should be flattered. We don't even have to try.

So it's a nicer time to be weird, I think.
I, for one, am no longer hiding.
And it's nicer out here in the fresh air.