Recap: IMAGICON 2010

So ImagiCon 2010 has come and gone already! I must say it was way larger than I thought it was going to be and much more fun than expected! First of all, if you want to find good people just go to any of these conventions! Not just locals either, this event hosts people from all over!

ImagiCon was well setup, organized and had the nicest and friendliest people working and volunteering there! I was so absorbed in what was going on inside the McWane Science Center that I never made it to the other locations, which was about four more! Somebody kick me for that and keep up with me next time!

So what did I do and who did I meet? A lot of new friends, just a few out of the thousands there and here we go; I met my childhood hero Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers) and my childhood crush Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering). As we talked I learned that Erin Gray teaches Chi Kung and Tai Chi, she has established Heroes for Hire which is a company that books celebrities at personal appearances and speaking engagements. Next up was Gil Gerard who is as funny as ever and I learned he really likes to pick on Erin which was a little funny. He actually picked on me a little bit too, what up Gil? b ut seriously he is as down to Earth as you would want a living legend like that to be and told me he's working on a book deal about Buck Rogers and also that he and Erin are also involved in a radio show about Buck Rogers, more to come on this!

I got to talk to Bonita Friedericy who plays General Diane Beckman on Chuck and wow what a nice lady she is! We of course talked about Chuck and told me to look for the Easter Egg on tonight's Season 3 finale (the cast thanks the fans once again!). She talked a little about Season 4 and then security came and took me away (just kidding). And guess what? She's married to John Billingsley from Star Trek:Enterprise and True Blood and he was sitting right beside her and what a cool guy he is! did you know he was in 2012? I did, I'm asking you!

I ran into authors Bobby Nash and Sean Taylor , Bobby knew who I was and it made my day! So what did I do? I scanned over all the new reads (novels and comics) they have out now, got to spend a little time with them and here we are now talking about it...Hit their websites up and check out their work, it's awesome! 

I talked to author M.B. Weston who was showing off her newest fantasy novel The Elysian Chronicles and learned a lot about her work and that she is one of the nicest authors there is. She loves the fans and takes time with them to talk about her work and answer all the questions so check out her latest novel!

My next stop (oh and these are in no particilar order) I ran into one of my favorites Billy Tackett, he's the guy that made Uncle Sam into a zombie! We've all seen the Uncle Sam artwork as a zombie! Well Billy is one down to Earth guy and took a moment with me. I actually stopped by his booth two days because the zombies kept luring me in. He had a lot of his artwork there on hand and I just gazed like any fan boy would. So be sure and check out his website. I know I'm making a face, it for no aparant reason, I just do this sometimes.

A few other notable authors you should check out, and I forgot to get a pic with are J.F. Lewis (Welcome to the Void) who has a few cool projects out, Revamped and Staked. Sounds like it's right down your vampire alley,huh! Also check out J.W. Braun site for the latest based off of The Lord of the Rings called The Lord of the Films. And last but not least on my book rounds I made a new author friend in Denise Roper, she has a novel out called The Lord of the Hallows and if you're thinking along the lines of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings then you thought right!

A small note here, I ran into Deborah Smith Ford who is THE Trinity lookalike from The Matrix movies. She also has several other projects she works on including being an author!

A ran into two girls from the Birmingham area who make these cool masks that reminded me of that Tom Cruise movie, Eyes Wide Shut and a few others I can

t think of as I type this out. Unfortunately I didn't get both of their names but hey I got one! Linsey Martin and their website is called SilverCicadaDesigns.com, there is also a link to the facebook page from the site. These girls were really cool and even let me try one on. The masks are all one of a kind, made of leather and all have different paint schemes. You can tell there is a lot of effort in making these bad-ass masks so check them out!

Next stop, the lightsaber booth! YES, like a kid in a candy store I was right at home playing with the Star Wars lightsabers! They worked, some made noises and these bad boys sell like crazy! This guy is a professional machinist who makes all kinds of movie props from my lightsaber to steampunk, to fantasy weapons and guns! You can email Johnny Fuqua at mnmmachining@yahoo.com. He does special orders too! I look cool with that lightsaber don't I!

Like any convention Star Wars was well represented by the Alabama Garrison 501st Legion and they came in numbers so ImagiCon was full of Bounty Hunters, Stormtroopers, X-Wing Pilots and few other characters I don't know names of, hey don't judge me! Hey 501st, I want to join you guys! Can I wear my GeekTyrant t-shirt over my Stormtrooper uniform? I'll be pulling double duty you know! These guys do a lot of charity work all around the world, YES the 501st is freaking huge people!

Last but not least I met some Ghostbusters from right here in Alabama! These guys have all the uniforms just like the movies and even the proton packs and gadgets and some even worked, which was really cool! So I think I also want to be a Ghostbuster too but like I said before I'll have to pull double duty! These guys have a cool project going on too called Project ECTO, they are raising funds so they can get their own ECTO 1. These guys do a lot of charity work and would really like to have this cool ECTO mobile (ECTO-! or 2 or 3 maybe?) how about (ECTO GT?) sitting at their charity events and outside the convention next year and I'd like to drive up and see that thing sitting out front also with lights and that crazy siren a blazing! Check out their very cool site at AlabamaGB.com, become a Ghostbuster and even hit the donate button if you want!

I missed a few things i was really curious about, one was all of the Steampunk people there and the party they had! I want to know more about this, the style and the accessories and how it got started besides the Terry Gilliam movies..

I missed my favorite movies that were showing all day long too so somebody keep a leash on me and a clock handy next time so I don't miss any of my favorite movies showing! I can't leave out the huge Anime event I missed!

I also want to say thanks to Star Wars author Tim Zahn and the hilarious and awesome Star Wars host Cathy Bowden for being so cool, fan friendly and down-right cool! I did everything from attending  a Stsar Wars collecting panel to a Star Wars limbo and you can check out the pics from that on the GeekTyrant Facebook page!

I want to say thanks to the cool artists hanging out at the Kingdom Comics room, especially my new favorite Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

There was so much I missed but we find the things thngs that draw our attention and that is what we stick to! I promise I'll venture out on my next stop. Heasd on over to the Facebook page to see "just about" all of the pics from ImagiCon 2010.

Special thanks to Paige Smith and all of the ImagiCon team! First rate and First class event y'all and I can't wait until next year and go ahead and put that leash on me for the Steampunk party so I don't forget next time! Let's keep ImagiCon going and growing! I'm behind this growing event all the way!

Peace I'm outa here!