I came, I saw and got Conquered at Indy Pop Con this passed Saturday in Indianapolis, Indiana. My feet are still hurting from the crazy amount of walking we did Saturday. But, I am still buzzing from the experience. I was only able to attend one day because of my work schedule. But, we made the most and the best of that one day we had. Sooo, my niece and I jump in the car on Saturday morning and roll to Indy. We made awesome time and enjoyed some funny conversation.
My cousin Nicole hosted and drove us to the event and was fully immersed in nerd culture. If you don't know Nicole she is Darling Nikki from our
Real Talk w/ David and Nikki show. But, she was an awesome host and I think she was happy she tagged along. So we made it to the Indianapolis Convention Center highly anticipating all the nerds on display. We actually went in a different entrance where there was a very conservative looking political something or other going on. #Glares We finally made our way to the right area. All I will say is that it smelled fanboy-ish.and everyone agreed. We registered and purchased our chances to win prizes from
Gleaners Food Drive staffed by
Lambda Chi Alpha (we didn't win). But, it was for a good cause.
 |
| Pokemon Pikachu VW Bug |
Where to go what to do? We walk into the main convention hall and all of my senses are completely overloaded. Cosplayers, Comic Books and Vendors are everywhere!! I compare it to having Thanksgiving dinner. When you see all that food it fills you up faster when you actually start eating. And that is exactly how I felt. I was on the hunt for several comic books so I started at one of the many comic book vendors to choose from in the hall. Some were happy to be there.. some seemed less interested in what you wanted to buy. I didn't understand that. But, as we walked along it got better. Being a podcaster I was allowed a media press pass to cover the event. Next year I think I am going to have a booth in their
podcast alley. I met so many podcasters. I did 2 segments for
The Nerds You Are Looking For and
The Obsessive Viewer Podcasts.
As we make our way to the back we have to take our obligatory Dr. Who Tardis pictures.
This was more of a display rather than an actual box. But, it was fun nonetheless. I mean the amount of vendors with their wares to sell was immense. I just couldn't get my mind straight on what I was doing and where I was going. I was just kind of walking. But, that's when we saw him. One of the main reasons my niece and I came to Indy Pop Con.. Xander Harris!! Nicholas Brendon is about 50 feet from us. My niece gets so nervous she has to use the restroom. I am not one to be star struck but I have to admit that I was a little bit star struck. He seemed smaller than on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television show. Dressed in a green henly shirt and high lights in his hair, Nicholas Brendon was in full on celebrity mode. He was hugging everyone that came to his table. When it was finally our turn I lose my words and begin to stutter. I finally get out "Can You Sign My Copy Of Buffy...?" He was shocked to see somone bringing the comic book that he co-wrote and shared that knowledge with his gang of handlers. He gave me a big hug and we posed for a picture that they could tweet out.
After getting our geek on with Nicholas Brendon we decided to get some of the shopping done. I was able to get a hot caricature of myself as Animal Man on the new Justice League United Blank Variant Cover.
 |
Art by Art Of Beast
Larry Hama of Wolverine fame (now G.I. Joe) was on hand too. I brought my Wolverine #50 for him to sign and he also did a sketch on my Avengers World #1 Comic. We chatted a bit about how the comic book was over 20 years old. He also told me he was hard of hearing. So, it did make our conversation rather difficult. But, he was still cool.
 
My cousin, Darling Nikki, was completely taken by Rupert Boneham. from Survivor. I will have to say that he was probably them most genuine of the lot. He was nice and all of his merchandise was being sold only for only a donation. I purchased a tie dye shirt for my mother that he signed and he also signed photos for both my mother and I. The proceeds were given to his organization called Rupert's Kids. Rupert's Kids is a nonprofit organization committed to changing lives by empowering youth to discover their inner strengths, realize their own self worth and their value to society.
 
Nikki had her caricature done by Craig Boldman of Archie Comics. She had him make her into a Black Snow White.
If you have ever listened to a Fanboy Weekly or Comic Booked show, you know when it comes to new comic books I am not easily moved to get on board. But, as we were closing our day at Indy Pop Con and author/illustrator by the name of Geoffrey D. Wessel stopped us at his booth to share his Keeper comic book with us. I purchased issue #0 and wish I had now bought the all the current issues. It was good as it was terrifying. Reading through his website, I see where he has also been nominated for an Eisner Award for his 8 pages of work in Outlaw Territory Vol. 3 which includes his "Problem Solver" work.
All in all I had a wonderful experience and it will be on my things to do list every year now. Thanks to all the organizers of Indy Pop Con for having an amazing event.
Although, I didn't win their prize, the fellas at geekcityguides.com hooked me up with a t-shirt (in my size). They are creating a database of geek across the country. I joined the website and look forward to checking back often for all the information they will have in their database.
Lastly, here are some additional pictures from our time at Indy Pop Con! See Ya next year!
 
 |
| Chris & Elaine as T1000 Terminator and Sarah Connor |
 
Here are a few podcasts and vendors that I had the opportunity to meet during Indy Pop Con:
Chris & Elaine (pictured above terminator) www.thoughtbubbles.podbean.com
The Nerd's Domain www.nerdsdom.com
Art Of Beast www.artofbeast.com
Comic Hunterz www.comichunterz.com
The Crit Crew www.soundcloud.com/crit-confirm
Billy & Brandon Watch Movies www.billyandbrandon.com
Bob Williams www.thefoolery.org
The ProNerd Shop www.project-nerd.com
Final Words
Check out our podcast coming soon on Spreaker and iHeartRadio.
Add your thoughts on your experience on Wednesday on www.blogtalkradio.com/comicbooked.
Call in at 929-477-1883 to be apart of the show. |
We finally kick off our Comic Convention season with a Con that we had never attended. So, it was off to Lexington, Ky with friends and family to start off our Convention Season with a bang. The line up was appealing with guest like James Marsters, Elisa Dushku, Skottie Young, Kellita Smith and others. I had heard about this Convention for a few years. But, I was surprised at the quality of guest and comic creators were in attendance. A lot of Conventions have some pretense that is some what off putting. But, not LexCon. The guest were comfortable and easy to chat with and the attendees were nice and laid back. Maybe, it's the Kentucky Bourbon that has everyone so mellow. We made friends with con goers and guest alike. I was able to score some autographs and photo ops with relative ease. Sometimes, when you go to these types of pop culture conventions you get swallowed by the money making machine in which other conventions operate. This will be a convention that will permanently go on our calendar every year. Check out some pictures and check back for a podcast review on this amazing con.
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
