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 Last
weekend, Big
Beatty, John
Higashi and I made
our way to the Tampa
Comic Book and Toy Show.
Asmany of you know, it's my favorite little convention.
But
if Tim Gordon continues to put on such great shows,
it
won't be little much longer. It's held three times
a year
and has added the Tampa Indie Film Fest to a program
which already includes celebrites signing autographs,
artists sketching, a costume contest, prize
drawaings...
there's ALWAYS something going on to interest everyone.
 Beatty,
Higashi and I drove down the night before. It's
become a tradition that we go down a day ahead of
the
show, hang out with other collectors and eat dinner
at a
place called
Sweet Tomatoes.
This time Randy Martin joined us for dinner. Afterwards
we went over to his place to hang out
.
Randy has thecoolest Edward Scissorhands art
collection that you can see if you click HERE.
The next morning, Beatty, Higashi
and I headed over to the show. Higashi was
on a mission. His goal was to get to Ethan
Van Sciver to add to a sketch that
he'd started a few shows ago, and to set up a commission
with Pablo
Marcos.
My plan was to meet Pablo Marcos and possibly get
a Stallone sketch from him.
Beatty was there just to stir up some fun.
 Higashi
started getting that predator look in his eyes and
I
knew that soon he would be in full con mode. The
doors
opened and the crowd headed in. As we were walking to the
artist area, I saw Randy Martin had set up
and so I stopped to
chat with him. Higashi continued to make his way
to Ethan's
spot center stage.
A few minutes later, I headed over to
the stage area. Higashi
was waiting for Ethan to arrive. I said, "Hi"
to Marty Nodell and
his son. I was just hanging out waiting for Big Beatty
to mosey
over when Cindy
Morgan walked up to me and introduced herself. Cindy
was a
guest of the show and is best known for her role as Lacey
Underall in Caddyshack.
She asked if I was with the show. I told her I wasn't. As
luck would have it, Tim
Gordon [who runs the show] was passing by. He stopped
and was able to answer
Ms. Morgan's question. There was a bit of small talk
and then she excused herself
to set up. Tim and I spoke a bit before he went on
stage to introduce the guests and welcome the crowd.
 I
decided to head over to the film room when
suddenly Captain Battle and his Battle Team
appeared.
His Battle Team was filming fan reaction as he
walked through the crowd meeting and greeting
young and old alike. I shook hands with the good
Captain and was awarded his first dvd movie.
I'll write more about that soon.
In the film room, Beatty and I
watched a
retrospective on Irwin Allen. Allen was
first known
for his tv shows, Lost in Space, Voyage
to the
Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, and Land
of
the Giants. He then went on to become the King of
Disaster Movies with The
Posideon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno.
Higashi came in. He'd been
successful in getting Ethan to add more to his Star
Wars piece. The three of us
watched a short film called Contact from Beyond.
The people who made the film
were in the audience and the crowd enjoyed the experience.
 That's
the look that Wild
Bill Black had on his face when he
saw Beatty and I re-enter the convention hall. Bill
was talking to Marty Nodell and had made the trip
to Tampa just to hang with
Marty for the afternoon. It's always great to see
Wild Bill, who is busier than ever with his comic
and dvd businesses.
I spent some time talking with Jesse
"Cadre" Hansen and
Mitch "Bubba
the Redneck Werewolf" Hyman. It's always a
blast speaking to these guys as they love what they're doing
and their fan base continues to grow. Beatty came
over to see some
new stuff that Cadre had created. When Beatty
gives praise, you know it's earned. He and Mitch
talked about Beatty doing a cover for a future issue
of Bubba -- so that
looks like it's going to happen.
Then is was time for the
costume contest. It's surprising to me, because of
the size
of the show, how many really good costumers are always
there. You have to admit
that it adds something to a show, when you see characters
walking around and
they look like who they're supposed to be. The winner was
a guy dressed as The Shadow -- at the last show he
came as Marv. In the picture above, that's me with
The Scarecrow from Batman Begins and Kevin
from Sin City.
The only thing left to do
was for Higashi to set up his Star Wars commission.
That's Pablo and his lovely wife pictured
above. Higashi and I were in line as Pablo
sketched for fans. Higashi asked me if I was
going to try for a Stallone sketch.
Because of the time factor, I said that I didn't think so.
We watched as Pablo
completed a beautiful Vamperella sketch... then
a Zombie pencil sketch... and then
a Conan. Man, each sketch was a beaut. Higashi
set up his commission which
Pablo was doing as a take-home piece. I then
arranged to have a Stallone sketch
done and mailed with Higashi's. I don't know
which character Pablo is going to do...
but you can be sure, it'll be sweet.
Sadly it was time for us
to get on the road. Higashi had been able to get
Ethan to add
to his piece and Pablo to commit to a commission.
I had been able to arrange for a Pablo sketch as
well. We'd been able to visit with old and new
friends, see some fun films, check out some wild
costumes, and just have a great day. Tim's
next show is
in November. If you're able to make it, I can promise
that you'll have a fun time. Heck,
you may even get to be in a picture with Steve, Big
Beatty and Wild Bill!
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I
really don't read comic strips much anymore.