I did stuff at Emerald City Comicon.
It was fun.
In fact it was so much fun, I’m not sure my brain is working properly anymore. I want to write a great piece on all the exciting things I did and people I saw and art I bought, but I’m having a little trouble stringing words together into complete sentences.
So basically this is a highlight reel of my weekend. Be sure to check out all the great clips and the mediocre vlogs on the MiaCon page, as well as the fun photos in the gallery, to get more of my ECCC 2015 experience.
Who I Saw
Steve Blum – One of the most prolific voice actors in the world (literally, the Guinness Book of World Records says so) and the English dubbed voice of one of my favorite anime characters (Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop). Got to sit right up front for this panel, though really I was just there for his voice so I would’ve been happy anywhere in the room that I could hear him. He talked about how he got into voice acting, what his career has been like, and what it’s like working on different projects with other voice actors.
Jewel Staite – The delightful actress that starred as Kaylee in Firefly as well as Dr. Keller in Stargate: Atlantis. Funny, sweet, a little bit spicy, she talked about many of the different roles she’s played and dropped some funny anecdotes about working on the different shows.
Anthony Daniels – What a wonderful, energetic, funny, brilliant, man. Like Steve Blum, I was there to see (hear?) him as much for his voice as anything, but the man who played C3PO was fun to watch as well. He ran around amongst the crowd, dealt perfectly with an over-enthusiastic young fan, and heckled back audience members that heckled him in a fabulously classy manner.
Patrick Warburton – I’m a big Venture Bros fan and was also a big The Tick fan, so this was a must-see panel for me. He talked about Family Guy and The Tick and his epic love of Pearl Jam and didn’t really mention Venture Bros but it was all good. Especially cause he let the audience pick on him (good-naturedly of course) over his inability to use a microphone properly.
Stan Lee – Couldn’t miss a chance to see the legendary man himself, even if it meant getting up early and waiting in line for over an hour. He was fun, told some great stories, gave some sassy answers to fan questions, and laughed a lot. He wasn’t as energetic or bouncy as Anthony Daniels, but it was still great to see him in person. Comic book fans today owe a lot to what he created back in the day (though honestly I’ve never been a fan of Spiderman myself) and it’s great to come out with fellow fans enmass and show him how much he means to us all.
Gina Torres and Jewel Staite – I couldn’t pass up the chance to see multiple Firefly actors in one place, and Jewel Staite had already proven herself to be delightful to see. Paired up with Gina Torres they were absolutely wonderful. Funny and quick and nostalgic. Full of stories about their time on Firefly and working with the rest of the Firefly cast. You can tell from their stories as well as the way they interacted with each other that they were a cast that really saw themselves as friends and family and that’s always fun to see.
John Barrowman – Hands down the most exciting celebrity panel I attended. John Barrowman is funny and charming and snarky and dirty and musical and bouncy. He seems as excited to interact with the fans as they are to interact with him. He answered questions, fell for a lovely older lady with a Dalek hat, sang with a star-struck fan on stage, lost his mind over a surprise visit from actress Alex Kingston, and refused to give the audience less than the full hour they had come to see him for (most panels end at 50 minutes). His was the last panel I attended at the convention and I actually stayed a little later than I should have just to see him and I’m ever so glad I did. He was brilliant and I hope to see him at a convention again. Next time I’ll have to do a photo op with him, just so I can give him a big hug and tell him how delightful he is.
What I Did
Improv Against Humanity – An improv show based on Cards Against Humanity, one of the most hilarious and offensive games ever invented? I had to be in the audience for that! And I must say The Fictionals, the improv group putting on the show, were great fun to watch. It took a little bit for them to get going, but once they had started playing the game and acting out the winning cards it was a total laugh riot.
Titmouse Animation – I love love LOVE the shows coming out of this animation studio. SuperJail is dark and gross and hilarious, China IL is sketchy and weird and fun, and Venture Bros and Metalocalypse are must-see TV. I loved seeing these guys in person, hearing them talk about what they’ve got coming up, and seeing them give advice to aspiring animators.
The Real Nerds of Comedy – I’m a big fan of stand-up so when I saw this panel listed in the guide I knew I had to check it out. While the set up was a little weird (even one of the comedians remarked on how odd it was to do stand-up from behind a podium) the jokes were great and the laughs were real.
What I Bought
I picked up amazing artwork this year based on some of my favorite fandoms. From Camilla d’Errico I snagged her special convention print based on the animated feature film Spirited Away. At the ESlinger booth (which was also the first booth in the vendor hall I really visited) I nabbed a fantastic splatter type painting of Harley Quinn from Batman. From Sarah Rene Straub I picked up a beautiful picture of a kitsune from Japanese mythology. And from Tomas Overbai I grabbed amazing line drawings of Harley Quinn, Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation, Ash from Army of Darkness, and Maud’dib and Stilgar from Dune. Buying art at cons is one of my favorite things to do and I already have tons of it, but I’m happy to add even more beautiful and original and amazing stuff to my collection.
Where I Ate
I can’t make a trip to Seattle without stuffing my belly with lots of delicious food. Thursday night I made my annual trip to Pike Brewing Co for what I continue to maintain is the best pulled pork sandwich IN THE WORLD (seriously that is one epically tasty sandwich). Friday I went to Kastoori Grill for some absolutely delicious Indian food. The chicken tikka marsala was insanely good, and the garlic naan bread was addictive. Saturday saw me at Blue C for sushi, conveyor belt style. I’ve eaten there several times before during conventions (it’s located really close to the convention center) and always been pleased with my meal. The sushi was great and the lemon cupcake I grabbed toward the end was surprisingly sweet and tangy and moist and good.
