Emerald City Comicon 2017: Part 2, Artists and Wares

(Image:  The ECCC's 15th Anniversary Program Guide)

Even though my one-day venture during the Emerald City Comicon (ECCC) was more of a supersonic fly-by, I managed to take a few pictures of the artists and vendors that caught my attention.

Weta Workshop had one of the largest displays at the con.

(Image:  In front of Weta's checkout counter)

(Image:  One of Weta's life-size banner ads)

(Image: A figurine of one of my favorite literary heroines--Eowyn) 

(Image:  A figurine of another favorite heroine--Galadriel)

(Image:  Diorama of Dol Guldur and figurine of Radagast and his sleigh)

(Image:  A larger-than-life size statue of Lurtz)

("FIND THE HAFLINGS!  FIND THE HAFLINGS!")

(Image:  Weta's on-site professional makeup service)

I came across two ECCC Merchandise stands during my walkabout.  This one in front of the Main Showroom, didn't have too long of a line...

(Image:  ECCC Merchandize booth in front of the Mainshowroom Entrance)

...but the smaller one in Artist Alley had less than half a dozen people waiting to be served.  I certainly didn't want to pass-up the opportunity a short merchandise line presented, and I was able to place my order as soon as I weaved my way to the cashier.

I picked up a new Punisher t-shirt...

...and an ECCC exclusive Punisher comic book.

The cashier asked me if I was excited about the The Punisher TV series.  To my chigrin, I told her this was the first I've heard of it.

I guess I should do some homework before venturing out to conventions in order to maintain my "geek cred."

Anyway, once I got the ECCC merchandise I wanted, I set off to annoy chat with some of the artists I know--and maybe even buy something from them.  (Note:  In my case, "know" means I've met an artist once, or twice).

I've run into Rebecca Hicks, author of Little Vampires, at just about every con I've managed to attend.  So I always make it a point to stop by her booth and say hi.

(Image:  Rebecca Hicks, her husband and her Little Vampires booth)

Her and her husband were nice enough to pose for a picture, even though I couldn't find anything this year to buy from them.

Brad Guigar has a few projects going on and several products available, but he always takes the time to talk to fans.

He maintains a "how-to" site about making and maintaining webcomics called--well--Webcomics.com.

His current long-form comic is Evil Inc., about a super-villain corporation.  He's working through Patreon to fund his Evil Inc. venture, along with commission work ranging from family-friendly to NSFW. 

Brad is also directly associated with ECCC through his collaboration with Tales from the Con.  If you attend comic book conventions regularly, you may end up living-out a scene described in Tales of the Con, which was available in book-form from the ECCC Merchandise Booth.

I was in such a rush trying to get to the con on time, that I forgot to peruse through my collection to ensure I don't by any duplicates.  Lately, I've been buying duplicate gaming items, which require a second trip back to the store to return them.

With Brad's help, I was able to figure out how many Evil Inc. volumes I already had, and which I could safely buy.

(Image:  My latest books signed by Brad Guigar)

Ron Randall is another artist I like to pester talk to.  He's enjoys meeting with fans, even ones like me already suffering from "con-fatigue."  (See my supersonic fly-by post about my mental state).

(Image:  Ron Randall)

While he was autographing the latest two Trekker books, I noticed Ron was a collaborator for Future Quest.  So we ended up talking about our mutual love of the best animated series ever--Jonny Quest.

Since I bought two of his Trekker books, Ron threw in his artist sketch book for free.

When I go on a shopping spree at events like ECCC, I try to keep an eye out for items friends or family members may like. 

Last year, a coworker lent me Watchmen to read, in order to compare to novel to the film.  While my knowledge of both Watchmen mediums is still limited, this crappy copy caught my eye.

(Image:  Nicole Goux with one of her collaborators, whose name I didn't get)

I asked Nicole Goux, one of the collaborators, about their version.  She said it was their homage to the original source material and attempt to analyze the artistic style of the book using their own drawings.

Despite the title, my coworker appreciated getting a nicely autographed copy of Shitty Watchmen.

I saw the following artists in-passing, but didn't get a chance to loiter around swing by their booths:

--Phil Foglio, currently writing his steampunk saga Girl Genius,

--Jeph Jacques, creator of Questionable Content, a slice-of-life comic--with robots, and

--Scott Kurtz, proprietor of Player vs. Player.

I wasn't planning on buying as many graphic novels as I did.  My original plan was to focus on getting game material.

(A life-size banner add for Flying Frog's cliffhanger game)

There were several gaming areas at this year's ECCC, but I didn't have time to sit down and play any of them, even the ones who were offering prizes if you win.

I browsed through a few of the vendor stands, but only bought a few supplement card packs from the Flying Frog Productions booth.  The staff were very friendly and helpful, especially in helping me figure out what I may have already purchased.

When I finally got around to going through my books and games, I was relieved to discover I didn't buy any duplicates of anything.

Next time I attend, I'll try to remember to write a list of already-owned material.

The final chapter in my ECCC-2017 Trilogy will be on the cosplayers.

Stay tuned!

Late Commenoration for the 950th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings

(Image from Wikipedia's entry depicting the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings)

I was off-line for a couple of days, hunkering down for a storm that fizzled, so I missed commemorating an important anniversary in military history.

"Number Eight" of the The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (Hastings) was fought nearly a millennia ago, on 14 October 1066.

Over the weekend, a thousand re-enactors participated in celebrating the battle's anniversary.

(Image from: ABC Net, Australia)

For us non-re-enactors, our familiarity with the Battle of Hastings looks more like this, reading from the warmth and safety of our homes:

(Image from:  British Battles)

Or, for talented wargamers, (of which I am not one of them), the battle is an embodiment of "War is Glorious" on our tabletops:

(Image from:  Tree Frog Treasure's Toy Soldiers Forum)

And for us YouTubers, Kallistra Ltd produced a video of their tabletop battle just a few years ago.

(Image:  Still shot from Kallistra Ltd's Battle of Hastings Video)

If I'm still around--and cognizant--in 2066, I'll try to be more timely in posting about the Millennial Anniversary of the battle.

A Visit to the EMP's Star Trek Exhibit

(Image from the EMP Museum website)

A couple of weeks ago, I waxed poetic about Star Trek's Golden Anniversary.

Even though I still haven't seen Star Trek Beyond yet, I did manage to go to the Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibit at Seattle's EMP Museum (Experience Music Project).

I was hoping to venture up to the Emerald City on Star Trek's exact anniversary day, but my wife and I were too busy.  However, we both had last weekend off while her sister and brother-in-law were visiting us.  This turned out to be the perfect outing for all of us since we grew grew up watching the show.

The museum allowed visitors to take photographs, but did not allow the use of camera flashes.  I don't like using the flash anyway, so this didn't bother me initially.

However, the exhibit hall was very dark.  As a result, I had to max out nearly every editing function on my computer to make the subjects of each picture discernible.  This process took over a dozen hours of sifting through 149 photos.  Even with 89 usable pictures, it was difficult to obtain a good image without some video reflection, or lens-flare from an overhead light.

What follows is a sample montage of our adventure.

Entering the strange new world...

(...and taking many small steps for "Fankind")

The Starships

(The USS Enterprise)

(USS Voyager and Galaxy Class Enterprise)

(USS Voyager)

(Deep Space Nine)

The "History" of Star Trek

(Where the various shows fit in to our "future history")

(There's quite a gap between the Original Series (TOS) and the Next Generation)

The Museum's Artifacts

(The exhibit's main floor)

The Original Series:

(The Enterprise's bridge with Kirk and McCoy's uniforms)

(Starfleet women's uniform, worn by Lt. Nyota_Uhura)

(Helm and navigation control)

(A blurry picture of a control panel)

The Next Generation:

(Geordi La Forge's uniform)

(Captain Jean-Luc Picard's uniform)

(Counselor Deanna Troi's uniform)

(Lt. Commander Data's uniform and display)

Deep Space Nine:

(Captain Benjamin Sisko's uniform and DS-9 display)

Voyager:

(Seven of Nine's and Captain Kathryn Janeway's uniforms)

Enterprise:

(T'Pol's and Captain Jonathan Archer's uniforms and display)

Adversaries in Star Trek

The Federation's opponents ranged from worth Cold War Era stand-ins...

(The Klingon Display)

(Klingon weapons and battlecruiser model)

...to a terrifying "Horde of Alien Locusts"...

(An occupied Borg Alcove)

...along with the misunderstood...

(The Gorn costume)

...to the darn-right cute & cuddly.

(The Tribble display)

Sometimes our enemies are our darker selves.

(Kirk's Mirror Universe uniform)

But the best Star Trek nemesis by far is...

(The Khan Noonien Singh Display)

(Ricardo_Montalban's costume in The Wrath of Khan)

...well, at least the original.

(Benedict Cumberbatch's Khan-reboot costume)

Star Trek Props

What I found most remarkable about the props used in Star Trek was--how unremarkable they are.

(Some familiar items used in the Original Series)

After half-a-century, they even look shoddy compared to more updated props.

However, this is what makes them so amazing.  That a pop culture phenomena was launched on such an small budget, making due with whatever the prop manager could cobble together.

Oddly enough, the exhibit I, my family and even a coworker liked the most was this diorama showing how the Enterprise Set was arranged.

(The real Starship Enterprise)

Star Trek Creator and Patron

(Gene Roddenberry's bio)

Here's another reason to "love Lucy:"

(Lucille Ball is attributed to saving Star Trek before it began)

Star Trek's Impact on Today's Culture

(Star Trek themed merchandise)

(More 'Trek merchandise)

(Even our president was a fan:  Obama and Nichelle Nichols renders the Vulcan Salute)

Interactive Displays

(The famous crawl spaces named after designer Matt Jefferies)

(Yours Truly in a Jefferies Tube)

In addition to scampering through a futuristic crawlspace one can even star in their own "movie," which consists of virtually beaming down to some hostile environment and resolve a critical situation that only main characters can accomplish.

("Away Team Instructions")

 In this story, I drew the short straw heroically volunteered to beam aboard a damaged freighter about to crash into an inhabited planet.  My assignment was to destroy the ship's Phlebotinum Core--with a hand phaser--before it reached the planet's atmosphere.

 (A one-man Away Team preparing to beam aboard a stricken vessel)

My mission was a success, probably because I wasn't wearing a Red Shirt for this operation. (I tried uploading the video my wife took, but I couldn't get it to play here on Blogger).

Speaking of attire, I didn't see any cosplayers at the exhibit, but back in May there was an opening day costume party.

The Star Trek:  Exploring New Worlds exhibit will continue at the EMP through 17 February 2017.