Slacker Sunday: Albany Comic Con Wrap Up

Hey everyone! Hopefully you're all having a wonderful, sunny weekend, just like I am. I'm in a great mood because I just got back from Albany Comic Con, and as you all well know, comic cons can cure whatever ails you, so I'm in a fantastic mood!

Some of the Highlights

Jamal Igle- This guy has worked on a TON of comic books, including Iron Man, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. I got to meet him today, and he signed issue #53 of the current Supergirl series for me, which he not only penciled, but also did the cover art. He is a super nice guy. More info on Jamal can be found HERE.

Jeff Burns- Jeff is a local filmmaker, who is currently working on the webseries "Super Knocked Up". I've been corresponding with him for sometime via Facebook, but finally met him face to face for the first time today.  I'm so glad that I'm helping out with this project because Jeff is one of the most sincerely nice guys I've ever met. He gave me a tee shirt, so I got to rock out in my new SKU tee. I'll be rocking it again in Boston in 2 weeks! For more info on "Super Knocked Up", click HERE or just look it up on Facebook!

Cos Players- For some reason, these guys were out in full force today. I love checking out people in costume, because you can see how much effort (or lack of effort) they've put into their work. I bought a Hello Kitty watch from the Upstate NY Cos Player group, and they were certainly dressed to the nines!

COMICS!- I mean, really? What's the use of going to a con if you're not going to buy books? Amiright? The sellers had plenty this go around, including plenty of variants, cheap "filler" books and trades.

The Albany Con is seemingly busting at the seams these days. I remember The Editor and I checking it out for the first time three years ago, and the place was a flipping ghost town. Dare I say that come October, they may need to start looking for a new venue, because the Holiday Inn is just about at capacity.

My only gripe about the con is that I still couldn't find my ungettable get. I've been scouring cons for the past two years trying to find a Wonder Woman Barbie doll, and I can't seem to find one ANYWHERE. I need her so that I can complete the trifecta and have Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman all standing proudly on display in the Nerdatorium. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky in Boston...

Albany Comic Con and Why You Should Go

Hey everyone! As previously mentioned a few weeks ago, Con season is almost in full swing! Next Sunday (April 17th) is the Albany Comic Con. This con is local to me, which is why I'm writing about it today. I've been going to the Albany Cons for the past 3 years, and in that three years, the attendance has grown by leaps and bounds!

All of the local shops are there (Earthworld, Aquilonia, Electric City) as well as some private sellers who are there to offload their stash. There are people selling collectibles, tons of comics (both new and vintage) and a variety of different people in cos play. There is even a Star Wars cos play group that attends most of the local cons, so there will be lots of Storm Troopers and even a full size moving R2D2!

There will also be a pretty nice artist alley featuring many artists of both comics past and present. Of that group, I'm most excited to see Joe St. Pierre, who has done a TON of work on X-Men, and Jamal Igle, who has done a lot of work on the new Supergirl series. Usually two of my favorites, Nick and Jackie Taplansky (Nick of one of my favorite zombie stories ever, "Awakening" fame, and his wonderful, amazing, illustrator wife, Jackie) are there, but unfortunately they won't be back up to the Albany Con until the Fall con. Definitely two people you need to check out when they're in the area!

In addition to all of this other fun stuff going on, my friend Jeff Burns will also be there, promoting his new web series "Super knocked Up". It's a fantastic story about what happens when a superhero and a super villian share a one night stand that leads to an "Oops!". Since I'm too preggo to cos-play, I'll be sporting one of the fabulous "Super Knocked Up" tee shirts to help Jeff promote. If you come say "HI!" to me, there might be a sweet button or pen for you :-)

Oh, did I mention we're going to have a few real life super heroes there as well? Local superheroes Kick Ass of Albany, and the Silver Sentinel will definitely be there, so be sure to stop by and say hello to these two great guys who help keep our city safe!

Albany Comic con goes on April 17th at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road from 10 AM to 4 PM, so pack up the family and come on over! It's only $5 admission!

For more info on Albany Comic Con click HERE

For more information about the web series "Super Knocked Up" click HERE

B.O. Bombs and Fart Circles

So, we attended the Albany Comic Con today which is about 1/100th as big as NYCC. It's always a fun time to go, even if you're just planning on stopping by. I've gone to so many Albany Con's now, that I have my favorites that I like to go visit. My two favorites have to be Nick Tapalansky and Jackie Santiago. Most recently, Nick wrote the graphic novel "Awakening", which is a very noir type murder mystery, involving zombies. Nick is an extremely talented author, who is well on his way to making a name for himself. I picked up the second volume of "Awakening" today, and I'm super excited to start reading it. Jackie happens to be Nick's brand new wife! About a year and a half ago, I started digging through Jackie's artwork at one of the cons, and now I have four pieces of her artwork in the Nerdatorium at my house. Her artwork is very distinct, and I would almost call it anime-ish. She creates her own characters, but she also draws her own rendering of different female comic book characters. I have Supergirl, Robin, Ms. Marvel and Catwoman on my wall :-) I couldn't be happier for these two, as they are not only incredibly skilled at what they do, but also two of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

"Awakening"-- Amazing story and cool ass artwork.

I know Evan T. has already made a post about comic con etiquette, however, I feel that I need to reiterate a few of these rules, and introduce you to a couple of con vocabulary words/phrases that you may not know.

I just want to touch on one subject that Evan T. did not know about because he is a boy. I am a girl. I am a nerdy girl. That being said, please do not be an asshole while I am looking through comic boxes. Just because I have my cell phone out, that does not mean that I am finished going though the box. All that means is that I'm looking at my comic book "needs" list PDF on my cell. So take you're ghetto assed notebook filled with chicken scratch and walk away. Do not attempt to rifle through my box while I am still in it, because I am a derby girl, and I will hip check you across the room.

And I'll booty block ya too.

 In addition, PLEASE I am begging you on behalf of the human race, PLEASE for the love of god, WEAR DEODORANT.  A shower once a day, or at very least, once every other day, would also help. I am not joking when I tell you that at one point, a kid next to me had B.O. so bad, that I literally had to walk away and throw up in my mouth a little. I referred to this kid as a B.O. bomb. Unless your B.O. is your defense to my hip check, PLEASE be current on your personal hygiene. Especially if you ever want to get to second base with a girl.

Chickity check yourself.

 My last tip is please, please, PLEASE don't eat super disgusting food before you visit the con. And if you do, pretty, pretty please stop and take a GasX before you get there. Flatulence seems to be an issue at all cons, big or small. I coined the phrase "fart circle" when we were at the NYCC. A fart circle is basically when there is a group of people (usually teenage girls) standing in a group together giggling and releasing SBD's (Silent But Deadly). If you are unfortunate enough to have to walk by, or god forbid, walk THROUGH a fart circle, I feel so sorry for you. You will immediately gag and put your nose into the collar of your shirt. One lone member of a fart circle is a crop duster.

The Google tag on this photo was "business-communications-icebreaker". I call it "corporate fart circle"

I hope you have learned a thing or two today. Please, for the love of god, heed my advice.

Saturday Wrap Up

Hey y'all! It's going to be a very short post, as I am going to the Louis CK show in just a couple of hours and still need to beautify myself.The next week is going to be a blur for me, so if the posts are super short, I hope you understand :-)

So, last night, The Editor, Evan T., Cara M. and myself went down to Ulster, NY, for the #1 haunted hayride in the U.S. It was expensive ($33/each), but totally worth it. They start with a hayride and then take you through four haunted houses and a haunted maze. It's called the Headless Horseman Hayride, and you may have seen it on the Travel Channel. I love the fall, and I especially love Halloween. There's something about hot apple cider and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake that just does wonders for the soul. Generally we go to Salem, MA, every October, but my schedule has been impossible this month, so we figured something closer would be nice. I'm not one to get real scared at haunted houses and the like, but this one was very suspenseful, and completely worth watching Cara M. almost pee herself numerous times. The only complaints were that the lines were outrageous (we had a 10 PM reservation and didn't get on the ride until 11:30 PM), and the obscene amount of "city people" there. Don't get me wrong, I love NYC, but standing in line with a bunch of them when the Yankees are getting eliminated from the playoffs, was not my cup of tea. I posted the 2010 advertisement for the place below!



Last but not least, if you're in the Capital District of New York and you're looking for something to do tomorrow,  the Albany Comic Con is going on at the Hilton on Wolf Road in Colonie. I'll be there along with The Editor and probably Evan T., so make sure you say "HI"!