Here I Come, Fan Expo

That's right.  I'm going to be at this year's Fan Expo in Regina on April 23 & 24.  However, I will not be some mere costumed attendee just hanging out having some fun.  There's nothing wrong with being one of those of course.  Hell, I myself want as many of those people there as possible.  I say this because I will occupy at table in the Artist's Alley selling my most recent comic book Censor Monkeys Have No Class.  Posted below is the overhead map of the general area at Evraz Place.  I have highlighted in red where my table will be.

My table is labelled "a53".  I have no idea who the other artists are that will be beside me, behind me or in front of me.  So, if anyone reading this has also been lucky enough to receive a table either in Artist's Ally, the Retailer's section or the Community section, feel free to shout out your table numbers here.  Then we can all know who we are and be fast pals or something.

Besides my book, I'll have other swag and merchandise for sale.  Definitely come on over and buy something for yourself or as a gift for someone you love.  Let's all have a good time.

Of course, there's bigger reasons to come down to the Fan Expo as well.  There's a few celebrities that people in the Queen City may want to meet in person:

James & Oliver Phelps
They play the twins Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter movies.  I'm sure they have something "on the side" with those Full House twins.  Who knows.

Verne Troyer
He of course became famous for playing  Mini Me in two of the three Austin Powers movies.  But he also plays Griphook in the Harry Potter movies. 

Brent Spiner
He's most known as Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  He also played the villain in the ill-fated Dana Carvey vehicle Master of Disguise, but I'm sure if you mentioned that one to him he'll punch you.

Matt Frewer
He's best known as that super cool dude character Max Headroom.  For everyone who is Generation Y and younger and thus would have absolutely no idea who that was, I have embedded a clip of him below.  Enjoy!

Yes, it was the '80's!

Dirk Benedict
Best known as Face on The A-Team and Lt. Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica.  I am so stoked for him being there.  The A-Team is easily a childhood favourite of mine which I still enjoy today.

Sean Astin
He became most famous as Frodo's friend Sam in the Lord of the Rings movies.  He was also in such films as Rudy, Encino Man, and got his big start in The Goonies as a kid.

Trina Nishimura
She has done numerous voices for anime shows.  Her most recents examples are Ellen Mira Mathers in Date A Live II and Miyabi Azumaya in Dimension W.  (Yes I had to look those up)

Jamie Marchi
She's another anime voice actress.  Her most recent work are Yuka Amado from Maken Ki! 2 as well as Akira Aoi in Selector Spread Wixoss

It looks like fun will be had by all.

Another thing to keep in mind when you see me at my table is that I'm doing this while still working a full time job.  On the weekends that job happens to be a nightshift position.  That means for me Saturday day will be fine, but then I'll have to work all of Saturday night.  Then soon after I finish that night shift I'll have to go back to Evraz Place to be at my table all day instead of sleeping.  Following that, I'll be going back to work to do another night shift again instead of sleeping.  So on Sunday, I could be pretty wired.  Oh well, I did that same thing at Hal Con back in 2011 and at the AubCon back in 2014.  I am definitely prepared to go through that again.  Oh hey, I'd better give a nice shout out to my "sponsor" then.

...when sleep is not an option!

So, come one come all to the Fan Expo.  Wear a costume and have a good time.  I know I will.  I think I'll even live tweet the event just for a lark.  Of course, like I said, since I'll be coasting on little to no sleep on Sunday, some of those Sunday tweets could be to say the least interesting.  I'm sure we're all looking forward to that.

See you there!

Not so fast

I've just been told that Golden Age Comics in Vancouver is no longer a location that will be selling my Jesus Needs Help comic. It seems that one employee was happy to accept the comics for retail, but then another grumpy type of employee overrode him and flat out rejected

them. I'm not mad at anyone over this. It happens all the time when one is selling a comic, both to upstarts and veterans alike. That's not the only store in the world. I can easily take my business elsewhere.

This situation has piqued my curiosity however. I wonder what it was about my comic that upset him so much. Could it have been the subject matter? That doesn't seem too likely. From what I've

observed, comic book fans for the most part are notoriously hard to offend with subject matter. You could make the most blasphemous comment against God, country, and their momma and they would not even flinch. They would laugh uproariously until they lost the ability to breath, and then once their respiratory system was operational again, they'd continue their laughter, even if the joke wasn't all that funny. They'd tell you that you should have added more stuff about sodomy and pig's blood. BUUUUUUUUUUTTTT, if

you make the HORRIBLE MISTAKE of confusing Batman with Spiderman or something equally as heinous, THAT offends them. Then you're in for an earful of tears and bile from these people.

I know for sure that my comic book contains no misinformation about any popular comic book figures so the Golden Age employee couldn't have been offended by the subject matter. The only way he could have been offended at all would be because... >GASP<... he's not a real comic book fan. He must be one of those "normals" who gets offended too easily. It wouldn't be the first time a "normal" infiltrated a comic store. I was in Truro, Nova Scotia trying to sell my comic to a store there. The guy I met working there objected to how I portrayed Jesus as a "fictional character". (Although, anyone with a bizarre/paranoid opinion like that is not someone I would consider normal). Needless to say, I made no sale that day.

Of course, it may not be too late for Golden Age. If you live in the Vancouver area and you get

most or all of your comic book merchandise from Golden Age, it couldn't hurt to go there and ask for a copy of Jesus Needs Help. If enough people ask about it, they'll have no choice but to stock it. It would be nice if the 500th (or so) person, the one who manages to turn the tide and get my comic on their shelves, would bring in a nice, well cooked dish of crow for that one grumpy employee.

I can dream.