Surviving the FanExpo

I must be getting old. Two solid days of the FanExpo and I'm beat. My feet are tired and my back is killing me but you can bet your moisture farm I'll be doing it again next year. Maybe it's the flea-market atmosphere, the exclusives, the talented artists in Artists Alley, the big name celebrities or the crazy fans all dressed up in their fantasy costumes but whatever it is it is just plain fun.

Yes, there was a little something for everyone. Hasbro, Sony, Marvel, DC Comics and a slew of other big names from the toy and entertainment industry were there to show of their wares and lend support to their fans. Free T-Shirts. Free comics. Free iTunes downloads. Free Kre-os (Hasbro's version of Lego). Game demos. Panel discussions. It was all there for the taking.

For me the highlights of the weekend were meeting Gary Kurtz (Star Wars producer), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0) and William Shatner (a man who needs no introduction). I had only planned on getting autographs from Kurz and Daniels but by Sunday afternoon I caved and got in line for Shatner. I still think $80 is more than double what any celebrity should be charging for their autograph but I just couldn't let another opportunity go by and so up to the Shatner booth I marched. I also attended his Q&A session later Sunday afternoon which was very entertaining. He's a great speaker. I may big a bigger Star Wars fan but Captain Kirk is The Man on an intergalactic scale. Don't let anybody tell you different.


People watching is also one of the entertainment factors of the FanExpo. Some costumes are unbelievable, some are laughable and some (well actually quite a few) are barely there.

There were Star Wars fans,


Super Heroes,


Girls with big guns,


and a whole whack-a-doodle of Anime fans. (They are the crazy ones if you need any sort of heads-up when going to one of these expos.)


I keep telling myself that one of these years I'm going to actually go in costume. This was my fifth year of attendance and I still haven't mustered up that kind of courage nor made a valiant effort to actually get my Clonetrooper armour. Who knows? Maybe having gotten so close to William Shatner has changed me. Maybe I'll finally have the courage to boldly go where I've never gone before.