Wizard World East
Philly
Page 2
5/30/03 - 6/1/03
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Saturday! Well, today was the day they were giving away tickets to a Q and A with Kevin Smith. It was first come, first served, and there were only so many tickets out there. John and I refused to miss out. Since Dennis had managed to get us Exhibitor badges, we were able to enter the Con an hour before everyone else. The tickets went on sale at 10 am, the same time to Con actually opened it's doors to the paying guests. John and I made our way to the table giving out the tickets at about 9:45 and literally sat at that table.
At 10 am, the doors opened and the line for tickets just literally sprouted instantly. When the girl giving out the tickets actually showed up, she had to ask us to move so she could set up. Which meant giving us our tickets first. Otherwise she had no place to sit!
The Kevin Smith Panel line.
Natasha. For some reason she beat the living hell out of me all weekend. Every time I was near her she would kick me, pinch me, poke me, pull my hair. It's shameful the way she flirts...
I saw that the Stormtroopers were using some new "Imperial Occupied Zone" caution tape in the area where the Star Wars actors were signing autographs. As soon as I saw it, I turned to john and told him, "I have a funny feeling that at some point today, I'm going to be wrapped in that tape". I don't know why I thought that, it was just this sense that I had.
Not even two minutes later...
Either I'm a very good judge of Imperial Procedure, or these guys are just way too predictable.
They seemed so proud of their newest trophy! (Photo courtesy of Rich)
Jenny finally getting her shirt! She and Natasha were actually the ones that came up with the "Spat's My Bitch" slogan, so I promised them a free T-Shirt.
At lunch we met the most hyper waitress in the world!! It was actually work to get her to stand still long enough to snap the pictures above!
Back at the Con, Brian O'Halloran (Dante from Clerks) had arrived and was signing autographs and his new, Exclusive Wizard World Inaction Figure. The line was huge, but after a while, John and I noticed that no one was really around, so we were able to sneak in and get our pictures taken with him, Walter Flanagan, and Bryan Johnson (all from Kevin Smith Jersey Chronicle Films).
John finally getting to meet Ray Parks (Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One, and the Toad in X-Men)!!
I'm pretty sure that them giving the finger was directed at me for some reason. What did I ever do to deserve this kind of treatment? I'm a nice guy, aren't I?
Green Monster!! Kill it!!
John with Bill Tucci, artist behind the Comic Book "Shi".
Then it was time to head down and see the Kevin Smith Panel. This is the line of people waiting to get in!
Me abusing Natasha some more.
Testing the focus on the camera. We managed to get really good seats in the third row.
Why does it look like I'm Miming having a drink? And look how Natasha is hiding behind Wendy like a scared little Squirrel.
Me and Wendy.
The back of Natasha's neck. No idea why that was taken.
Look at Rich trying to get some attention by wearing his helmet. How sad it truly is when someone is that desperate for attention that they have to dress in a silly costume or put up a webpage with pictures and stories about the silly things they do... wait... Ok, maybe he's not THAT sad...
And there he is, Kevin Smith! The panel was awesome. Some of the answers he gave were so funny. Rich and John both asked questions and I did get video of it, but I don't think I'm going to post it here. It's just too big.
At the end of the panel, Kevin did show two scenes from his upcoming film "Jersey Girl" which isn't due out until February 2004.
After the panel we headed back to the Con. After the Con closed, and Security escorted everyone out, John and I noticed Kevin hanging out by the Jay and Silent Bob NASCAR. John immediately ran over to the View Askew booth and bought a "Clerks" poster and borrowed a pen.
And of course, here's the main reason we came to the Con, to get to meet Kevin Smith!
Afterwards, we headed over to the Irish Pub to have dinner with the members of Philly Fan Force, SWNYC, Garrison Carida and the ECG. Joining then for dinner were David Prowse (Darth Vader), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett).
It was quite the turnout for dinner, and the food was great!
Natasha kept pinching my butt every time I walked by, so I had no choice but to sit on her!
Sadly, John and I couldn't stay long, we had been invited to the Wizards party, and had to run over there. At the party, they gave out these awesome "Rizzo the Rat" Muppet action figures! Very exclusive ones. Apparently, there were only 250 made, and each comes in a bag that says "Party Giveaway, May 31, 2003 9 pm". Talk about being specific! Everyone was going crazy trying to get more, but it just wasn't going to happen. People were buying you drinks for them, buying them for $20 cash, you name it! John and I did manage to hang on t ours, and I'm happy we did, as of right now (1:30 am on June 2nd), there are some on E-bay going for $50, with a buy it now of $295! How cool is that!
Also at the party, we ran into Allison Mack (Chloe on "Smallville"). I think this is her first Con, and the fact that she was so super nice tells me it probably was! And I must say, she's much prettier in person than she is on the show!
After a little while, I headed back to meet up with the Star Wars folks, and Natasha got uppity again, so I had to put her in her place. I learned that by grabbing her wrists, she was completely defenseless, and I was able to lick her face with impunity! Of course, this only enraged her more, turning her into a veggie eating mini-Hulk. Of course, I still kicked her butt! (Photos courtesy of Rich)
Yes, for those who don't know it, I've quit smoking (some of you may have noticed this since for the first time, I don't have a smoke in my hand in every single picture!). But sometimes you just need a little extra kick of Nicotine...
I headed back to the Wizard party to find Dennis, by now John had gone back to the room to rest, and so I needed someone to wander the streets causing trouble with.
Here's me with Stuart! He's the guy at DC Comics that the Airwave mask we made was given to. He's the biggest Airwave fan in the world! It was really nice to finally get to meet the guy, and I'm so happy he loved the mask as much as he did.
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If you have any questions, E-Mail me. Spat@spat-nospam-cave.com
