Alternate Me Was There… Lock & Load 2017

Today is the first day of Lock & Load 2017, the convention run by Privateer Press! My friends headed down to that but with our last trip, traveling now didn’t make sense. However, I’ve gotten to watch some of the spoilers and all that came out of it today. They did a good job on some video work for their keynote, and it’s all that’s buzzing in my head, so I thought I would share!

First, a totally hilarious video for their upcoming painting tutorial series (something I should probably watch more of):

Next up, a voice over video with a ton of spoilers to round out potentially the whole next year of their major focus and releases! Lots of cool art and spoilers both.

And finally, their next project (and apparently an annual one): the 12 factions getting something for Christmas. So that everyone always at least gets something each year…

Chad (from the podcast) and probably the rest of my friends made it to the front row, so I could have been there! Alternate reality me was there. But hey, I get a little bit of the fun…

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And then there was Cherry City

About a month after my visit to Wizard World I had the opportunity to go to another Comic Con – Cherry City Comic Con, in Salem Oregon.

This was a smaller event, and I find it interesting to compare the two – particularly if I just look at the Sundays I worked.

There were less people at Cherry City, to be sure, and the celebrity guests were lower profile. I saw less cosplay or costuming (though what I did see was impressive), and it seemed like there were more people who had a lower-level of Geekery. Less hardcore, or maybe just less overt about it. Honestly, it made it seemed like it would be a good place for a baby-geek, or when Introducing someone to the awesomeness (and diversity) of the geek and nerd world.

Something that stood out to me was how very many kids there were! So many Elsas, Annas, and other princesses! There was one little girl who was dressed PERFECTLY as Rey (and happy to tell you exactly who she was).

This guy had a great, crocheted, Cthulu mask/hat!

It was a lot of fun to see these little ones running about, happily posing for pictures and sharing about their costumes.

One of the highlights of the displaying were the two dinosaurs – costumed as Freddy and Jason – running around and getting into the occasional fight.

They fight one another!

And they’d fight others!

The pace of Cherry City was slower, which meant less contacts for me (sad on the business end of things), but it was better for actually connecting with people. And it didn’t completely exhaust me by the end of the day!

I’m curious to hear what other people’s experiences at Comic Con’s have been. What kind do you prefer? What is the thing you always want to make sure to do at a Comic Con?

Finding a Place at Wizard World PDX

I’d never been to a Comic Con before.

It almost feels strange to say it, I mean they occur ALL the time near me, but I’ve just never quite gotten myself to one.  When I mentioned this some time ago a few friends recommended that I try out Wizard World.

So, I did end up attending Wizard World  – just not as an attendee… instead I got to combine my love of all things Nerd/Geek and my love of Nail-Wraps by working a Jamberry table at Wizard World in Portland, Oregon.

The not-so-awesome side of this as a first introduction is that I didn’t get to wander around quite as much and, other than a random sighting of Nichelle Nichols (!!) I didn’t get to take the time to go see any of the celebs that were there (if I had realizes that the signing space was SO close to us I probably would have at least taken a moment to wander by, I just didn’t realize how close we were to that area until we were taking things down).

The awesome thing though,  for an introvert like myself, was that I had a purpose. I had a thing I was doing which allowed me to engage with people more comfortably. I always feel so much more comfortable in social situations when I have a job that I’m supposed to be doing (it’s one of the reasons that I was so often the one organizing the parties when I was younger. If I’m hostess then I have specific duties and can focus on that rather than freaking out about how to talk to people).

Anyhow, back to Wizard World.

There were a lot of really great costumes wandering around, and it was really fun to see them all. It was also cool to see so many references that I understood (though there were plenty that I didn’t) and I loved getting compliments on the T-Shirt I chose to wear.

There were some absolutely adorable families dressed up in matching costumes, and some spectacular coordinated outfits. And, really, that’s what this event is about – getting to geek out and be immersed in your costume. So, without further ado… how about some costumes/cosplayers?

This guy was wandering around quite a bit – I rather appreciated the costume!

Mulan! There were a decent number of Disney related costumes.

Generations of Ghost Busters!

Family costumes were plentiful!