Comic Book Convention

Getting up the cold blustery morning of this last Sunday, I honestly had no idea what to expect. Would my lungs be filled with the pungent smell of thousands? Would I get trampled in a stampede of humanity? Turns out none of these things happened, the end result being far more sedate than I imagined. Hearing about it the night before, I was told that the best attitude to have while going in there was to treat it somewhat like an art fair. The main attraction being to see artists demonstrate their craft and see how they do it, all while seeing the hawk their wares. Hearing that this was a pretty popular event, my brother and I left at around 9:30 in the morning, with the goal being to get their early and beat the crowds. We ended up arriving to a nearly empty convention center. For a comparison, the last two events of this caliber that I went to went was PAX and the international auto show. Both places featured nearly sold out, capacity room only crowds. Both were also much grander affairs. While PAX and the auto show featured millions of dollars in marketing on display at the booths, at comicon most were nothing more then setup card tables. Fitting, because as it turns out, most comics are small independent affairs that are published MAYBE by a small local publisher. Though I may not be that into the comic scene, I do greatly admire the fact that these people are willing to come interact with their fans for probably very little money.

However, there were bigger names advertised that attracted much bigger crowds. Walking through the various booths, I momentarily had a lapse in direction and almost ran into a group of people standing in the middle of the floor. Thinking it was simply a group of friends saying hi, I looked to my right and noticed that the booth next to me had pictures of one of the people I almost bumped into on display. That's right, I almost bumped into the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno. Maybe its because it was earlier in the day, but I have to say I was some what shocked to see that such an iconic figure sitting alone at a booth drinking a water bottle. I probably would have went to talk to him and take a picture if it wouldn't have cost $60. He was far from the biggest star that in attendance that day, as I saw none other then Mt. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. Though I somewhat regret not getting in line to at least shake his hand, I figured in the end they probably wouldn't have even let me get in line, as they didn't need me taking up space in a line where there are people willing to pay $60 for a simple 5 second autograph. Instead, I was content to at least stand 15 feet away from him, so I could at least say that I saw him in person. I have to say that both for Ferrigno being 60 and Nimoy being 78, both look at least 15 years younger than they actually are. Going by "Pumping Iron" rules, Ferrigno has beaten Schwarzenagger, as Ferrigno is still extremely ripped and in good shape. Not gay, but I can at least admire someone who is still in really good shape at that age.

That's it for this time folks. Will I have a new job next time? Maybe.