Billy Dee Williams - Wizard World Austin

For those of you not in the know, Austin Texas was invaded this weekend by the largest assortment of nerds, cos-players, science fiction enthusiasts, and comic geeks at this year’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con. The convention was held at Austin’s Convention Center downtown and spanned over 3 days with plenty of ‘nerd-dom’ to spread around, and then some.

Wizard World Austin consisted of tv/film celebrities appearances such as Lee Majors, Ernie Hudson, Adam West, Burt Ward, Lindsey Wagner, Ray Park, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard, Walter Koenig, WWE’s Kevin Nash and Torrie Wilson, not to mention comic artists James O’Barr, Arthur Suydam and Matthew Sturges – and I reiterate this is only a few from those three categories. It was a lot to take in over the weekend for us fanboys and fangirls (see a complete list here).

Being a major fanboy myself, I find these events mind boggling with so much going on that I literally have to make a written list of things I want to see, attend, ogle over, and of course spend money on. As our weekend team took some time to split up and see the con and wander at our own place, my first observation was that the Austin Con Center was very adequate for this event. With all the attendance, I didn’t have to wade through people to get to see who I wanted to see. The celebrity lines went fast, and were not too long of a wait at all. Most strikingly was the reception of the fans by the guests. Every celeb I spoke to were very easily approachable which can be nerve racking at times. You never want your favorite stars reputation to be blemished by rude behavior toward its audience, who are ultimately the ones who are paying for it (yeah that would be you). The range of prices for personalized autographed photos were $20-$40, not including any photos that you wanted to take.

Back off man, I'm a scientist!

My highlight of the weekend was getting to speak informally with Luciana Carro aka ‘Kat’ from SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica series. After totally geeking out with her about the TV series and obtaining my autographed photo I proceeded to try and ‘over nerd’ myself and remove from my backpack a copy of the new paperback The Science of Battlestar Galactica by Kevin Grazer / Patrick Di Justo (a technical manual written about the series by one of its NASA consultants). Amazingly since the book is very new, she had not received her copy and was delighted to peruse it there with me. Yes with me! When you get to sit and talk sci fi technology with a member of the cast, one on one, in real time, and hear their experiences on the set, stuff that you would only read about – that’s the reason enthusiasts like us storm these cons, (well me anyhow). Luciana was super polite, signed my book, I went on my way with another con experience up there on my list, as again knowing affirmatively, ‘why we do what we do, and why we love doing it’.

We closed out the evening with a Q&A panel lead by Ghostbuster’s Ernie Hudson, followed by a quiet intimate showing of the Ghostbusters movie where we sat alongside several of the members of Texas’ Ghostbuster cosplay fan clubs as they quoted lines along with the film – ‘Aim for the flattop!’.

Overall, Austin provided a great welcoming for the Wizard World show, and we were happy to be able to attend. And magnificent props to those of you who were able to get some photos with our Gamettes Taffeta Darling and Deathwish Dena (pictured above), they did a fantastic job representing with us, and of course it just is never the same doing cons without them! So until the nerds gather in the masses again…

Crutchboy – Out.

Photos by Dave Martindale / www.emptyallegory.com, click below to see more pics of Wizard World Austin!

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www.HeroInitiative.org

The Hero Initiative will be on site for Toronto Comic Con & Chicago Comic Con

(New York, NY) – The Hero Initiative and Wizard World Comic Con will partner in 2010 to maximize the reach to fans for this important comic industry charity organization, Gareb Shamus, CEO of New York-based Wizard Entertainment and producer of Wizard World Comic Con tour, announces today.

“It’s important to support The Hero Initiative since they support so many of the folks in our industry. Without this industry support many artists wouldn’t be able to keep producing the wonderful work we love,” said Shamus.

The Hero Initiative will have a booth at Toronto Comic Con and Chicago Comic Con in 2010 to raise awareness among fans of the importance of their continued industry support. They will also invite special comic book guests to sign at their booth to help increase donations for the organization and art auctions will be part of convention programming with proceeds going to The Hero Initiative.

“Being on location at Wizard World Comic Con events helps us reach many fans when they are in a place to understand their role in the industry, and how if you love something, you have the power and the obligation to support it, like our organization does,” said Christina Zietsma, Associate Development Director at The Hero Initiative. “Partnering with Wizard World on a larger scale, outside of only the convention appearances, is strategic move by the organization to maximize awareness and impact for The Hero Initiative.”

More programming and special guest details for The Hero Initiative at Wizard World Comic Con events will be announced soon.

The Hero Initiative is also selling tickets for all Wizard World 2010 Comic Con events with part of the proceeds going back to the charity. Go to www.heroinitiative.org to buy your tickets now for Toronto Comic Con, Anaheim Comic Con and Philadelphia Comic Con. More events will be added as they go on sale.

For more information on the Wizard World Comic Con tour, including show dates, locations and guests go to www.wizardworld.com.

About The Hero Initiative:
The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit over 40 creators and their families with over $400,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by fan contributions. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Danzig/Samhain's Eerie Von and 'Misery Obscura'

(DARK HORSE COMICS) – From the deepest depths of punk rock’s 1970s primordial wastelands, through the stygian goth swamps of the 1980s, and on into the bloodstained arenas of 1990s heavy metal, Eerie Von witnessed it all.

Beginning as the unofficial photographer for punk legends the Misfits and later taking charge of the bass guitar as a founding member of underground pioneers Samhain and metal gods Danzig, the evil eye of Eerie’s camera captured the dark heart of rock’s most vital and bleeding-edge period, a time when rock and roll was not only dangerous, but downright menacing. Eerie Von’s Misery Obscura offers firsthand insight into everything from the Misfits’ humble beginnings in Lodi, New Jersey, to the heights of Danzig’s stadium-rock glory alongside metal superstars Metallica.

“I’ve been planning this book for twenty years,??? Eerie Von stated. “The fans have been begging for it almost as long. It’s been a great ride, and I’m glad to be able to share some of it with those who were there, and those who wish they were.???

Misery Obscura is not only an essential visual document of music history; but Eerie’s scrapbook-style stories of triumph and damnation bring to life an era the likes of which will never again be seen. Featuring layout and design by Tom Bejgrowicz, who conceived and executed the release of the infamous Misfits “Coffin Box,??? Eerie Von’s Misery Obscura: The Photography of Eerie Von (1981-2009) arrives on shelves this October, just in time for Halloween!

Artist Terry Parr, Gamette Amber Alert, Crutchboy, James, Gritskrieg, T. Danger

Some of you may have noted the distinct lack of… well, us over the weekend. That’s because we were off in Arlington attending Wizard World Texas. We gloried in the geekdom, basked in the nerdy, and had an all around great time. I’ll give you a couple of seconds to stop being jealous.

For those of you who haven’t had the fortune of attending, Wizard World is one of the world’s largest Comic Conventions to make a stop in Texas. And as an added bonus, Fear Fest threw in their lot with Wizard to make it an even larger event. So we were able to entertain our inner geeks with comics and art and then scare the crap out of the little bastards with some horror fare. Where I come from, we call that a “twofer???.

On hand for the Fear Fest portion was Danny Trejo and Corey Feldman. I had hoped for a knock down, drag out fight between the two of them but alas, it was not to be… This time. I considered telling Mr. Trejo that Mr. Feldman had called him a Mexi-CAN’T but I thought it might come back on me somehow and then I’d be beat up by both of them and then they’d go have milkshakes together. It was the camaraderie over the frosty beverages I feared most, only in that I would not be invited.

We made it up to the show early on Friday and scheduled our interviews for Saturday, taking the rest of the day to play fan boys and make our way around the show, fawn over our faves, and make some new friends. Through out this coming week, we’ll be posting up the interviews and reviews from Saturday and follow up with some friends we made at last year’s Wizard World.

And of course, the Reckon Crew couldn’t just be content with showing up, we had to bring the booze and the chaos to full bear when Friday night rolled around. We hooked up with “Darth??? Terry Parr and his lovely lady Amber Alert, who also happens to be one of our Gamettes. Yes, that’s a shameless plug. Pizza and beer were the order of the night and the Reckon Crew downed both in large quantities.

Saturday night was the “Heroes 4 Heroes??? charity event with several of the attending artists lending their impressive talents to what was a very successful night for the charity… and there was, of course, more drinking on our part.

Sunday morning saw us packing up at five a.m. to make the trip back to our respective homes. Weary, bleary eyed, and slightly hungover, we left Arlington in the wee hours, already plotting our heroic invasion of next year’s Wizard World.

Oh, yes… We will be back.

Gritskrieg – End of Line