...and I was honoured to be a part of it. I think I've recovered my regular sleep pattern so now it is indeed possible to make this blog post.
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| This was my display table. |
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| This was table number. |
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| And this was my name tag. |
The money I made in no way made up for what it cost to reserve a table there, but I would say that it was definitely worth it. Because of my presence at this event, that many more people are aware of my comic book and the Censor Monkeys who have the potential to intern tell others about it. Any and all exposure is better than none.
I sadly couldn't get anywhere near any of the celebs that visited the expo because I had to stay at my table the whole time, but I did hear about a few things from people who had walked by and talked to me. One of those things said was that Brent Spiner was a no show. No-one knew why he cancelled at the last minute. My guess is that since he's a robot his parameters were set to "disappoint people".
I also was told that at this expo Dirk Benedict was grumpy. Hmmmmmmm
But yet at the same time, Grumpy was not Dirk Benedict. Interesting how that works out.
That's all the expo 'scuttlebutt' I heard. So now I'd like to talk about my experience at this event: people's reaction to my book Censor Monkeys Have No Class. They were varied and intriguing to say the least. I remember one person calling my work "creative". Another person had a similar sentiment saying it was "unique and appealing in a million different ways". There was also a guy who said of my work "the SJW's will be in an uproar" which is pretty much the point really. One guy flipped through my book and loved what he saw which inspired him to buy it. Upon doing so, he showed it to his girlfriend whose reply might have been something like "why would you buy that?" I was too far away to clearly hear exactly what she said but I could see that sentiment in her facial expression. My favourite response came from two girls in high school (or University) who said "we should get this book and put it in the school library". My response to that was, "tell me the name of your school and I'll do it". You know what, I might just do that.
The reaction I found the most baffling was that of a man who identified as a feminist. He found the book "problematic" of course, but his critique of the Feminist Monkey made me almost jump back a little bit. He claimed that this particular monkey was 'highly sexualized'. Um................. what???
I....................... would not "tap that". In fact, for me that would be one of the least tappable creatures imaginable. Oh well. Everybody has their own bizarre fetish.
Like I've done at other comic book events in the past, I took pictures of everyone who approached my booth while in a costume. The resulting pictures like always are posted below:
Saturday
Actually, the first costume I'm posting is not from a patron but moreso a mannequin. The girl in the booth beside me made her own costumes for sale and this majestic pirate costume was one of them. I just had to take a picture of it. I personally can't even sew a button on without making my thumb bleed so I admire her skill and patience with her creations. Damnit I forget her name.
Here's a big man with a big gun. A more jealous wag would indicate that he is "trying to over-compensate for something". Forget that! This is one badass costume. This man should feel proud.
This guy had a wicked cool Deadpool costume, but started walking away before I could ask him to pose for a picture. So, I snapped this little candid shot as quick as I could. I think I'll sell this to TMZ later.
Here's a nice neo-victorian number. Beard-o looks triggered. PHHHFTT!!!
This lady right here is no mere attendee. She's actually a rather accomplished singer and youtuber named Tara St Michel. She was there making her own documentary of the Fan Expo and was nice enough to stop by my table. Her youtube video of this event is embedded below:
Also check out the rest of her youtube channel.
Here's a nice lovely couple. I'm not sure what the guy's costume is. From the looks of it, the lady's costume seems to be someone who fondles the breasts of short invisible women. That sounds like a fun thing to be.
I believe these are school girls from Hogwarts. No, I didn't ask which one of them was Tootie. They wouldn't have got that anyway.
A Rei costume. There were a lot of those at this Fan Expo of course.
Again, I'm only guessing at what the costume could me. I have no idea about the guy. My guess for the girl's costume is that she is someone who fixes all the flat tires on her bicycle with a cut out piece of her pants. That's an interesting concept for a super hero.
Here are some friends of mine: Jim and his wife Darla. Like the sign says below, they are indeed 75 cents each. Believe me, that is a bargain. Go pick them up at your favourite Dollar Store today.
Another Hogwarts student. Hey, does Voldemort know that a few of his students cut class to come to this event? I'm not sure what the penalty for truancy is at Hogwarts but I'm betting it can't be good.
And that was my Saturday. I made a few sales and all was good.
Sunday
After leaving the Fan Expo on Saturday I went home to have a bit of supper. Then I lay down for a bit before heading off to work my night shift job. My job ended a little after 7 am. From there I went straight home, had a shower, got redressed and headed right back to the Fan Expo all during the time I should have been sleeping. Then I had to be awake for the rest of the Expo until 5 pm when it was time for everyone to go home. So, needless to say I was a bit wired that day. But, in the mean time, I enjoyed the following costumes that came my way:
I saw Marvin!!!! No, I didn't 'make him angry'.
This little girl was dressed like Rick Moranis from The Little Shop of Horrors. Wow! She wasn't even born when Rick Moranis retired from show business. I feel old.
I think a French mime just got married to a Gestapo agent. I really don't want to know what the kids will look like.
Okay, this little joker never actually approached my table. However, he was constantly mesmerized by my artwork. He stared and stared at it for I think collectively a half an hour. I'm not sure what could have held his attention that long. Go back to my table display photo at the top and try to figure that out.
Here's an elvan princess. Dressed in purple to mourn Prince's passing obviously.
Here we have Super Girl. Buying that purse made out of kryptonite was probably not a good idea.
This girl right here is dressed for the prom. Weird because it's still only April. I guess she's so confident that she passed all her classes that she's celebrating early. Get down with your bad self, girl.
Also, this little princess came to my table. She didn't buy a book at all because in her opinion 'the monkeys are too scary'. Yes, little girl, yes they are. These monkeys are the scariest creatures EVEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! If you see them in your neighbourhood get rid of them by any means immediately!!!
Hey, look! The CBC news crew came down my aisle. So if you watched footage of this event on the CBC you probably saw my table in the background somewhere.
And that was my Regina Fan Expo experience. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed being there. Hey, if you were at this event on either day and you saw yourself in any one of these photos, definitely give a shout out of "OMG! THAT'S ME THAT'S ME THAT'S ME THAT'S ME......" in the comment section or wherever.
I'm definitely looking forward to next year.
