Some catchin' up to do Part 1

Inspired by all of the tweets that I received from San Diego Comic-Con this year, I have finally decided to get back on the blogosphere with a little overview of last year's SDCC.

Our first day in town, we ventured out into the Gaslamp District to see what trouble we could get into during our stay. We ran into this Cartoon Network-themed pizzaria and decided to step on in.

The food was pretty good and we kept it in mind for a future visit...

Preview Night was on the menu afterwards...as we stood in a long, yet speedy, line to get our con badges and swag... Once inside, I finally understood what all of the hullabaloo was about.

This convention was BIG!!! Bigger than any other con that I have ever had the pleasure of going to...and we, the OtaKrew, geeked out... I saw the above Gundam-themed backpack in the dealer's room on Preview Night...Honestly, I could have taken more pics from that night but I was just overcome by the vast amount of geekiness that I was engaging in...

The next day was spent standing in more lines in order to pick up Con Exclusives like the Carded Marvel Universe Galactus, Zentradi battlepod, etc.

While in line, we met this guy with this cooler than cool tattoo. You know, one thing about this con that I noticed early on was that the con-goers where really, really nice. I mean, if you wanted to take pictures, they took time for you. People were very polite. I was very impressed.

Another neat thing that happened while standing in this line was that someone recognized my KCUV t-shirt (a radio station from Boulder, Colorado)...It really is a small world as we met quite a few people from Colorado in San Diego.

Then there were the cosplayers...

Gotta love this version of Leia...

Then there were quite a few Baronesses but this one was easily among the best that I saw...

We went to the Robotech panel the first official night and saw this awesome Misa/Lisa cosplayer...afterwards we went out with some people from RobotechX as well as Tommy Yune and Tony Oliver (Rick Hunter)...a good time was had by all at Dick's Last Resort.

While we were there, we met World Champion pole dancer, Felix Cane...

She was nice enough to take a picture with me before heading off for the evening...

As for us, after the bar closed, we went back to the pizzeria from the previous day to munch on a few slices of pizza...

The first "official" day of Comic-con in the books and we were just starting to get loosened up...Here's Card and I sporting our Galactus gear while waiting in (another) line... Is there a theme here?

Just over a month away...

It's kind of embarrassing for me to admit but, while looking over some of my pics from last year's NDK, I came upon a pic that I really liked.

Taken on Saturday while I was on my way to a Robotech panel, I came upon this gorgeous cosplayer and I had to take a picture. It wasn't until months later that I realized that this was none other than the COSPLAY IDOL, TristenCitrine. This is somewhat embarrassing for me due to the fact that she has cosplayed the BEST Cutie Honey I have ever seen and that I have always wanted to meet her.

I had pictures of her donning the Cutie Honey togs in a photoshoot from 2008 when she debuted the costume but, I always wondered if she ever took it to a con before.Upon further investigation, I found that the lucky con-goers from Sakura Con (2008) were graced with the awesomeness of TristenCitrine's Cutie Honey. Oh, I am sooo jealous...

Hopefully, she makes it back to NDK again this year.I wonder if she will break that costume out ever again?

Anywho, with ComiCon coming up in just over a month away, I'm putting the finishing touches on my wishlist.

Near the top is this Microman Cutie Honey.
I have a history with this VERY hard to find toy.

I have been known to bid on items from Yahoo Japan from time to time. It's where I get a lot of my cels (as well as hard to find Japanese toys) from. I actually won this in an auction for just a little over $100. Imagine the disappointment when my auction was cancelled without warning.
Bummer...I know that some Japanese sellers don't like selling to overseas buyers. That's why I use a proxy to act as an in-between. Oh, well...you win some and you lose some. Thankfully, I didn't lose any money in the transaction.

MONDAY NIGHT FORUM
So, we have been watching Gundam ZZ at forum for the past couple of months. Being the UC-based Gundam freak that I am, I was really looking forward to seeing it.Sure, I had heard bad things about it but I wanted to see for myself what the big fuss was about. Initially, I can honestly say, Gundam ZZ deserved all of the bad reviews that it had received but around episode 22ish the story began to get better. It began to actually FEEL like Gundam again. We are currently on episode 32 and it looks like this is going to turn bloody soon.

One of the things that initially sold me on Gundam ZZ was the main antagonist, Haman Karn (or Khan in some circles). She is, quite possibly, one of my favorite characters in all of anime and easily one of my favorite characters in the Gundam Universe. Very strong-willed woman who is a very charismatic leader. Of course there is that undying love of Char Aznable that she has to contend with.What the world needs now is more Haman cosplay...Looking for a Haman I-Doll at ComiCon, for sure...Then there is the RAH-DX figure.From some of the reviews that I have read about it online, it tends to be a leaner and needs a little doctoring up and some TLC. However, with how much I love my RAH-DX Lunamaria Hawke figure, I can see myself springing for one of these too.

Ah...ComiCon could be a VERY expensive trip. Especially if the cel dealers that I normally buy from show up....

DECULTURE!!!

Coming up on Con Season!!!

So, let the above images fester in the mind for a moment. I will get back to that soon.

As the title states, it is time for my con season to begin. Sure, I did miss out on Anime Wasabi (AW) last weekend but my season truly begins with StarFest (SF) every year as it and Nan Desu Kan (NDK) are my two main cons.

The annual mid-April geek-fest that is StarFest gets me in the right frame of mind when it comes to my fanboy tendencies.

Being the fan of cosplay that I am, I love getting around and taking pics of all the people dressed up in costumes.
Of course, members of the OtaKrew love meeting new people, too.With the addition of the Comic Fest, most of the Krew went to SF last year and it looks like it will be a repeat showing this year.

What we are really looking forward to is the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in July.

While both Cyphr and Card have been to SDCC, the rest of us haven't gone before so this will be a real treat.

Wishlist...of course there is a wishlist....
Since this is the 25th anniversary for Robotech, the good ol' folks from Robotech.com/Harmony Gold will be there. At the top of my wishlist is this Masterpiece Collection toy....also, this YF-11C from Yamato. I have coveted this particular toy for quite some time.

Now, with this being a comic convention, at heart, I'm obviously going to want to pick up some comics. I'm really kicking myself for letting go of these particular comics some time ago.

As it is, I already know that I may have to pay an arm and a leg for these.
Now, this Uncanny X-Men number 138 is one that I want to get Chris Claremont to re-autograph for me. I owned this comic once with an autograph that Claremont signed for me back in 1980 but I ended up selling it along with my X-collection up to that point(issues 99-156). Dumb. While I do have a rather substantial X-collection, I'm still paying for that to this day.

Along with picking up comics, I also want to meet some of the talent.I would really like to meet/get an autograph/get a picture with Jim Balent. I've been following him for quite some time since his stint on Catwoman. Is there anyone who draws a better woman than Balent?

Then there is Fred Perry.

I've been following Perry for around 10 years and I love his stuff.

I want to see about getting this portfolio autographed.

Question: Is there such a thing as too many Slave Leia cosplayers?

I think not...

I will be on a mission to take as many pictures of as many Slave Leia's as possible.Hopefully, there will be some photo-ops of Slave Leia harems.

Olivia Munn....what can you say.

Then there is the new costume. Hot New Hope Leia.
So the question from the top of the blog is...which side of the fence are you on? Are you a Slave Leia fanboy or are you into the sexy New Hope Leia?

When I first saw Star Wars back in the day, I absolutely loved Princess Leia in her original outfit. I thought that it was pretty hot in it's own way so if I am forced to choose...I'm going to have to go with New Hope Leia...

Here's hoping for some cosplay of this particular outfit in the upcoming con season.

I will be on the lookout.

DECULTURE!!!