Similar to Christmas or Hallowe'en, 'tis not just the actual week of San Diego Comic-Con that excites, 'tis the weeks of preparation and anticipation which makes the event all the sweeter. Planning travel itineraries, organizing in-town logistics, scheduling Meet-and-Geeks, making costumes and booth-lists, plus purchasing all the necessary goodies which accompany any upcoming fete is truly half the fun. Once the big day arrives, it's a nonstop party rife with too much fun, too little sleep and oft a severe deviation from one's usually healthy lifestyle: unless you're Don Draper, a body does not need that many G&Ts in a week. In Con-speak, the condition is known as Con Crud, as in, "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I would love to meet you in Vegas for your birthday, but I still have a serious case of Con Crud."
Fortunately, as we have luxuries never imagined by those poor slobs at the 1884 London Comic-Con (sooty lot), the crud doesn't have to linger too long. Geeksoap hand-crafts, and sells for a very fair farthing, a fantastic selection of, yes, geek soaps. Can't geeks just use regular soap? you might ponder? No. It burns our Addams Family-pale skin. Plus, GeekSoap comes in tantalizing shapes like the Millennium Falcon, TARDIS, game cartridges and D&D di, all to make bath time all the dorkier. There's even a relaxing, lavender bath mixture: Con Fatigue Bath Tea. Clean me up, Scotty!
Even the best of Comicchanalian carousing must end: a.k.a. Comic-Con Blues. Again, like Christmas or Hallowe'en, when it's all over, there remains naught but feelings of sadness, satiation and, in some cases, corset welts. Happily (or, sadly for some) there also remain photos! Thanks to our Dr. Lucy and her Canon EOS, we have a plethora of Poison Ivy and a wealth of Doctor Who, yet, oddly, a dearth of Darth. After you've scrolled through our slideshow here, find even more of Dr. Lucy's snaps at Twisted Pair Photography: featuring photographic variety ranging from surfing and skateboarding to The Renaissance Faire, WonderCon Anaheim and, naturally San Diego Comic-Con.
Briefly, as promised amidst this year's coverage for GoodToBeAGeek, a quick S/O to a few vendors of SDCC 2014. As longtime readers will already know, I love to treat myself at these things (all year-round, really) and help support artists as well as the economy, local or otherwise. After all, as I say, Mom can't buy all our art; we need others! As tradition dictates, I like to highlight those Con vendors from whom I purchase. This year's goodies came from the following:
- Sighco (a.k.a. ArkhamBazaar): Lovecraftian Novelties & Other Weird Oddities: Poe and Lovecraft gear aplenty, mostly tees ... mostly. (In fact, a very special raven led us there. Thank you, Dante! We love and miss you dearly!)
- JefBot: The True Sci-Fi Adventures of a Nerd in Hollywood: Led by the head-bot himself, Jeff Schuetze, Jefbot is an animated roman à clé of sorts: "a multigenre, multidimensional and multiethnic comic strip" following the adventures of a struggling actor/working graphics designer who is addicted to film, TV and gaming. IRL, Jeff and his cohort Joe are also the purveyors/artists of International Beatsro t-shirts, like "Mouthfuls of Madness Ramen House" and "Casa del Chalupacabra Restaurante y Cantina". If you find yourself craving a bowl of Ramen overflowing with Cthulhu, seaweed and spring onions, Jefbot's the right place.
- The Bonebreakers (f/the artist known as "O"): Balls Deep: When Nobody's Weird, the Weirdo is You: Artist and publishers of "The Bonebreakers" graphic novel. My purchase? A whimsical portrait of Mr. Moon! (A character who would fit well within my own Savannah of Williamsburg circle of friends!) Mr. Moon is a portly, Holmesian kitty in tweed with a calabash pipe, mutton chops and, what I surmise is, a churlish attitude tolerated strictly due to his preternatural brilliance. I believe he also harrumphs a great deal, especially when dealing with underlings. Mr. Moon patiently awaits framing and I thank O for his creation, as well as apologize for asking him to sign Mr. Moon on the back, then on the front of my print. (Bellatrix, btw, does not apologize. She's quite mad, you know?)
Finally, if you’ve kept track (of course you have) … this girl's Hellboy article was published in this year’s official SDCC Souvenir Book! That’s #4, kids! Fun times! Past years’ books included J.S. Devore articles on Peanuts, Tarzan and Bongo/Simpsons Comics.
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