Con Announcement!

I'm going to have to make a new banner....

Are we doing Count Down to Comic-Con again? You're darn rights we are!



Some of you might remember last summer we were gearing up for the first ever Brandon Comic-Con, and how the rug was unceremoniously yanked out from under us quite close to the time and we were all bitterly disappointed. It was rough.

Well....

Things are happening again! The as-of-yet-unnamed convention (entries for the 'name the con' contest just closed the other day, in fact) is coming to Brandon this October! This time, the event is being organized and overseen by a local group rather than from outside and they have promised no last-minute heartbreak.

This is a big deal for us, guys. This is a convention half the distance from us than the last one, for one thing. For another, we'll actually know people there (most likely). Other Half grew up there and I lived there through University and for a number of years after. We'll have friends there, hell, maybe I can even convince my sister to come out as well. Regina was so much fun but we knew exactly zero people there, so it'll be awesome to have that extra dynamic. And we will be there both days.

Our costume plans aren't 100% finalized, but this is what we have so far:

-Me: Diablo III Barbarian and Valkyrie Frigga

-Other Half: undecided, but has some really cool ideas 

-Elder Spawn: Diablo III Deckard Cain and Live Aid Freddie Mercury

-Younger Spawn: New version She-Ra (she only wants to come for one day) 

So here we go again!

 

Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo Regina 2019

Hey everyone! I know I said I was going to do an Endgame review but I honestly tried for the last few days before we left for our last dance competition of the season (not me dancing, luckily for everyone involved). It just hasn’t been happening. It’s impossible to talk about without spoilers, really. So, to sum up that real quick: it’s emotional as heck. You will cry, a lot, especially if you’ve been there from the beginning. It looks stunning, and the final big climax is just phenomenal. Go see it. There, that’s about as much review as I can do, and want to do because I think you should really go into this knowing nothing. 

So let’s bring it around to talking about our first con trip! I’ve gone through all our pictures (there were quite a lot) and have hopefully chosen some really good ones to share as we talk about our day at con. 

Heading out. Striped blanket in back is wrapped T-rex. Also, bags of snacks.

So, as I said before, we went Saturday only, mainly due to the long drive and needing to get home for the kids to go to school on Monday, even if we did sneak Endgame in before we went home on Sunday. That being said, I think I’d like to go for the whole thing next time, even if we had to arrange an excused absence from school. I don’t think the kids would mind, they both gave the whole experience a thumbs-up and said they’d definitely go again. And I really hope we can. I didn’t know this until after, but SEE has been running in Saskatoon for a while now, but this is the first one in Regina, so that’s kinda neat. We may not have been able to get to an inaugural con in our own province, but the one next door is pretty rad, too. So let’s get to the pictures! I'm not necessarily posting them in chronological order since we did wander around and go back and forth a lot. 

Let's start with some random environment shots, just to give you a feel:

Hela!

TFW you realize the dude in blue with Link is Navi.

Brienne of Tarth and Babadook. Not sure on the kid.

Optimus Prime, obviously

Pyramid Head. He gave Younger Spawn a high-five when he passed us one time.

Some Jedi and a Guts, who I only know thanks to Death Battle

TARDIS, dragon, Hoth turret. Banner above is the group that made them. They were really cool, we talked with them for a while and they had some super neat props they and their kids had made.

The dude parked beside us. We saw him inside later dressed as a Paetorian Guard (the Star Wars kind)

Another prop made by the Joe's Place Youth Center. Gorgeous!

TIE Interceptor detail

dragon with fire effect

Kids with the raptor suit

Pics with other cosplayers, etc.:

The other half finds a fellow Jurassic Park cosplayer!

Getting our pics with the 501st.

me grinning like a dork with an amazing Flemeth

With some Avengers

and Ghostbusters

And of course, the inflatable Rex.

Break time. There were two main breaks we took from our wandering. 

the first one consisted of us eating many mini donuts 

the second one we commandeered a corner for ourselves

everyone needed to put things down for a minute

and get out their new swag

Fun pics of us doing stuff:

A selfie with a lot of photobombing

being inappropriate with the Poe Dameron cutout

Decided to finally take a group shot

board game center

we played Blue Lagoon

puppies! Younger Spawn would've definitely adopted one right then and there.

fun with a PKE meter

Treasure Goblin Stormtrooper

I had to. Because cows.

also had to. Because Star Wars

Some of our Fat Loot (okay, mostly mine):

art card, gorgeous (heavy!) bracelet, and Diablo pendant

Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla 2014 retro-style posters

Sabaton patch!

new book from a Regina author. He was super nice and even signed it for me!

Pre-Endgame bonus pics: 

Someone was not expecting to see this in the theater arcade

Didn't get a shot of Elder Spawn playing, but both kids did play.

So, if you couldn't tell, we had a great time at SEE Regina. It was super awesome to actually get out, go to a con, and indulge in our collective geekiness. I was honestly surprised how many picture requests I got (one lady in the parking lot as we were getting ready to go even asking 'are you the Diablo Barbarian?'), and even Elder Spawn got a specific pic request from someone who wanted to send the pic to a friend that was a fan. As someone who's not the most social in normal circumstances and who doesn't get a lot of opportunity to hang out with this many fellow nerds as once, it was really, really cool. And it's so great for the kids to get to experience this kind of thing, too. They are fans of similar things to us and they could really stretch their wings into this world as well. As much fun as I had, I'm glad they enjoyed themselves, too.  I would like to hit some panels next time, too. That was one thing we didn't get to this time (and the ones I would've wanted to see were on Sunday, but that was just bad luck on my part). And the costume contest! Not because I totally think we'll win, I just want to do it for fun.

We did learn some good cosplay lessons, too. Our costumes held up amazingly well, better than I had hoped, so all our hard work really came through. We did learn a thing about props. Next time, smaller or no props. The book and stone ended up in our bag over the course of the day, Elder Spawn had to ditch his hood when he got too hot, a 3 1/2 foot long T-rex gets heavy, as does even a foam axe almost as tall as you. That's not counting packing all that into our car. But we wouldn't have changed it, even if we know better for next time, even being exhausted by the time we left. 

so.... tired....

Okay, now I'm just going on. But it was freakin' amazing. I'm so stoked for another con. I don't know when it'll be, but, as Def Leppard say at the end of their shows 'and there will be a next time!". So big props to everyone involved in organizing and putting together all of this and all the vendors and everyone. It was so worth it.