Nov 19, 2012

SuperMegaFest 2012

Well, I tried last week to get Mail Order Monday back on track again and this week I have something else to post. Oh well! This weekend we went to an annual local comic convention called SuperMegaFest. We've been going to it off and on for a few years now and it's really starting to take off and grow.

SuperMegaFest 2012 Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader 501st

When we first started going there were maybe a couple of artists, a handful of celebrities from the past and a dealer room. Now it's expanded to a few more areas in the hotel to accommodate more artists, and for some reason, lots of overly-busty models.
You can hit the show's site to see the full guest list this year.

SuperMegaFest 2012 Mr. T

We weren't even going to go this year, having checked the guest list a few months ago there wasn't anyone particularly exciting we wanted to see. But I caught a tweet from Bruce Boxlietner Thursday night saying he was getting ready to head to Boston. I checked the con page and sure enough, Tron himself was going to be at the con! And so was Dean Cain. My wife's a big Superman fan. So the two of them made it a done deal for us!

We arrived around the same time we usually do and as we drove past the hotel to the parking lot, there was a line outside. In the years we've been going, there has never, ever been a line. Lesson learned for next year: buy advance tickets! Stan Lee was at the con only on the day we went and I'm guessing he was the reason for the hour long line to get in.

Once we got in, it was only about 20 minutes until Bruce's Q&A session, so I went to that. The room was fairly small, seating maybe 100 people. He talked a lot about Babylon 5, which I've never seen, but he was so funny and entertaining that it didn't matter. He took lots of questions and would go on and on with his stories and opinions on things. For the record, he doesn't care for Twilight.

SuperMegaFest 2012 Bruce Boxlietner

And of course, Tron was brought up. He talked about how he did scene readings to help cast the leads in Tron: Legacy. He told a great story about how on separate occasions during filming both he and Jeff Bridges had to take Garret Hedlund aside and tell him to cool it with the partying. "When The Dude tells you to stop partying, you're in trouble."

He also said he really liked working on the animated series Tron: Uprising and wished Disney could figure out what they're doing with it because of its off and on airings (I have to agree with that!). From everything he said it definitely seems like another movie is in the works.

After the Q&A, it was time for his photo op. I'm not going to rant about this much but I really dislike the idea of having to pay for a photo with a celeb in addition to paying them for an autograph. Some people were even charging to take pics with your own camera at their autograph table! I guess they have to make money too. I didn't post my photo with Bruce because for a professional photo, it's a little overexposed/blown out by the flash. The pro photo ops are only 20 minutes long for everyone that bought one so there's no time for socializing or do overs. You're in, snap, you're done. I did get to see him at his table when I got his autograph.


Then I got to go check out the rest of the show. It was packed! It's been pretty full in previous years but nothing like this year. The dealer area is pretty much the same every year with the same people there. There was a lot more people in costume this year, which was amazing. The cosplayers are my favorite part of any con. Their creativity is inspiring, like the below...

Supermegafest 2012 Bumblebee Transformers cosplay
This is not a statue or prop, this is a guy in a homemade costume!
Star Wars author Ryder Windham was there with the local 501st doing book signings. I was lucky enough to catch him when no one else was around so I got to chat with him for about 20 minutes. He was super nice and great fun to talk to because he's also a fan.We mostly talked about his newest book (which I got signed), The Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual. I asked if there were plans for more books like this and he said it was probably still a secret but there will be a similar book on the Death Star released next year. But you didn't hear it from me!

Because of the timing of Bruce's photo op, I wasn't able to go to Dean Cain's Q&A but I did go when my wife went to his booth and get an autograph. He was extremely friendly and took his time talking to fans. He seems like a really genuine type of guy. Even though I hadn't said anything to him, as he was saying bye to my wife and her friend, he offered to shake my hand and thank me for coming by.

Supermegafest 2012 Dean Cain autograph

Overall, the show was a blast, if a bit overcrowded. It's starting to feel more like an actual con than a flea market. There was never anyone there before that I wanted to hear a Q&A from and that made the day that much better. 

You can see all my con pics over on Flickr including the local Ghostbusters chapter, the Fourth Doctor, Ferris Bueller, a female Bane, Finn and BMO from Adventure Time, Demona from Gargoyles and a lot more. There's also pics from previous cons in 2009 with Cindy Morgan (Yori in Tron) and 2008 with Carrol Spinney (Big Bird & Oscar). 

I'll leave you with Wendy and Mabel from Gravity Falls.


8 comments:

  1. Haha! "Mr. T" has got a good sneer going there. :)

    I know what you mean about paying for those celebrity photos. I've never done that myself, but a friend of mine has a few times. From what she's told me, those photos can cost a lot!

    Dean Cain has hardly changed a bit since his Superman days. That was a fun show. Somehow, I'm not surprised that he's friendly in person!

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    1. The photo cost $5 more than the autograph and of course the prices vary depending on the celeb. Stan Lee was getting $60 apiece for photo and autograph.

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  2. That Mr. T cosplay is breathtaking.

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    1. It was awesome on its own but having the giant cereal box cutout really put it over the top. He was also calling people "citizen" when talking to them.

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  3. What a cool time Dex thanks for sharing with us and i would love to go to something like this sometime.

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  4. I had no idea that you got charged for photos and autographs at these conventions! I was always planning to go to one at some stage, if they had guests I was interested in, but I'm a little disillusioned now. Charging for autographs seems kinda tacky to me. I'm glad you had a good time overall though.

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  5. I'm with everybody Mr T is very cool!

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  6. Yeah you do get charged for autographs...I sidestepped all of that though. I find autograph pics of my favorite stars on the internet and print them out on glossy paper and hang em up in Monster Cafe Saltillo. They look just like the real thing.

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