2011 Miami Comic-Con

Last Friday John and I made the 4.5 hour drive to Miami for the first-ever Miami Comic-Con. We did this because A) It seemed like a handy excuse to eat at our favorite Cuban restaurant, B) Ernie Hudson was going to be there and I wanted my Stay Puft signed by an actual Ghostbuster, and C) Con within driving distance! Heck yeah!

We stayed two nights, although the con really only had one afternoon's worth of entertainment. One really *great* afternoon, though.

Let's start with a few costumes:

My fellow Dragon*Con attendees will remember this lovely Morgan Le Fay from the past two years. I love her props; the armillary sphere lights up and spins.

Even better, we spotted her again the next day in this costume:

Mrow. Steampunk Baroness, anyone?

(John's reaction to this outfit: "Look at her WAIST! It's so tiny!" He was absolutely correct, of course, but I thought it was funny that he was staring a bit south of where most men stare when corsets are involved.)

Zombie princess Peach:

The Batmobile was right inside the entrance to the main floor:

It was surrounded by waist-high curtains, so I'm afraid I didn't get any good shots of it.

Nifty interior, though:

The table in the background was Adam West's booth. The con was so small that there were never more than a few people in line, if there even was a line.

In fact, while John and I were waiting to buy some food at the little snack bar, John suddenly hissed, "JEN. Adam West is right behind you." I turned, and there was Mr. West, peering over my shoulder at the display case. I quickly apologized for being in his way, he very graciously assured me I wasn't, and then I suggested the yogurt parfait. 'Cuz I'm totally casual like that. [snort] A moment later he was replaced by Ernie Hudson, who bought a salad.

So, if you want to literally rub elbows with the stars, go to a small convention and hang out at the snack bar.

Less than twenty feet away from the Batmobile was the Team Fox Delorean. For a $20 donation you got to take pics sitting inside, plus a sweet little light-up Flux Capacitor pin.

This girl was clearly having a blast; she couldn't stop giggling.

These two ran squeaking shrilly through the aisles:

Which attracted the attention of the local brute squad:

Gotta love pretty people in spandex:

In the very back of the room was a fencing area:

This was also near my favorite spot: the art. I have way more than I know what to do with at this point, but I still couldn't resist adding a few things:

My cat Tonks is "helping."

That Animaniacs print was a LE of 10, and yet only cost $10. The artist even threw in a free head sketch of Brain. The adorable piggy Flash & Wonder Woman (aka Chester & Gretchen) is an original by Mike White, and came with the frame for only - no, really - $8. I had to restrain myself from buying all of his sketches; hit the link to see the others.

I also love artists' alley because it's fun to chat with and watch the artists at work:

This guy was especially impressive. Check out how he's resting his hand on that wooden stick to steady it; I've never seen anyone paint that way. [Edit: It's called a "mahl stick." Thx, commenters!]

The next day:



There were several excellent Star Wars costumes around, plus the R2D2 builders, but since I'd seen and photographed them all at the Star Wars Celebration I didn't bother tracking them down again. Here's a nicely weathered Storm Trooper, though:

And I asked this gal to take off her helmet "so I can show off that you're a girl." :D

Speaking of girls, here's my girl-crush from the weekend:

She was the only female in full Ghostbuster gear, and she was rockin' cherry red Doc Martins with her costume:

*LOVE*

That group is actually from the Orlando Ghostbusters, which hosted the game show "Are You Smarter Than a Ghostbuster?" In it they pitted poor Ernie Hudson against rabid fans in a trivia contest.

I say "poor" Ernie because he lost...

...badly.

Though, really, that's only because the contestants were allowed to use "lifelines" by asking the Orlando Ghostbusters for answers. Totally not fair! So, Ernie took to asking the audience for his answers. Soon no one on stage was answering anything: it was all lifelines. Still fun, though. (And Ernie still lost. Heh.)

By the way, I've never met an easier celebrity to talk to than Hudson. He could have been a fellow fan, he was so approachable and chatty. He was surprised when I mentioned seeing a vid of him at a con in Germany from a few weeks ago, and then - to MY surprise - he started telling me about a picture of him that's been all over the 'net recently. You know, uh...this one:

*snicker*

When I realized which photo he was talking about ("There was this picture of me behind me..."), I immediately cracked up and admitted to seeing it. He seemed pretty amused himself, though, so now I wish I'd let him carry on explaining; that could have been comedy GOLD.

I brought my 1984 Stay Puft for Hudson to sign:

Sidenote: I *finally* found something that cleans soft plastic: Magic Eraser. Seriously. You have to scrub, but the thing works miracles. (Just be careful not to take the paint off.)


And here's his signed butt:

Awesome, right? Although I still think it looks like he called me "gen."

And finally, let's end with a little more costume eye-candy:

I had a hard time chasing down this Batman. That's his daughter in purple to the side, and I wish I'd managed to get a better pic of them together!

[Correction: I'm told the little girl is Hit Girl, and "Batman" is actually "Big Daddy," who looks a lot like Batman. Sorry. You may now revoke 5 of my geek points.]
And even more pretty people (this time in corsets):

Hope you enjoyed my tour of Miami Comic-Con, guys!


Next month: MegaCon. (Aw yeeeeeah.)