Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, day 2

Day 2 cosplay: River Song from Doctor Who

Recap of my first day at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014.

I arrived even earlier for the second day of Salt Lake Comic Con than I did for the first, and I'm glad I did 'cause I was still in about the same place. Fortunately, there were some neat people to chat with while in line. Unfortunately, the Doctor Who fans behind me did not recognize my River Song cosplay (they DID notice another River who walked past). Oh, well, others knew who I was. It's always a thrill to be asked for a photo, though I didn't have nearly as many requests as I had for Princess Aurora!

The farmer from Babe (complete with stuffed pig in his pocket).
Perfect!

The view from my place in line.

As soon as I entered the Artist Alley, I beelined for Alan Tudyk's table. The mission: an autograph for my friend Stephanie. The only celebrity she had wanted to meet was Alan. On Thursday night, she told me she couldn't come, and she gave me the photo discounts that came with her tickets. So, I thought I'd surprise her with a signature. The problem was that I only had about 45 minutes free before I needed to get in line for the Stephen Amell panel, and Alan's line was so long they had to move us "latecomers" to a second location! Fortunately, the line moved faster than I ever though it could, and I was faced with Alan in only about 30 minutes. For such a popular guest at Comic Con, that's practically lightening speed!

Sarah found me while I was in the annexed line.
Such a cute 11th Doctor!

Alan Tudyk. You guys, he was exactly what I expected him to be! I shouldn't have been surprised, based on the panel the day before. He clearly and sincerely appreciates his fans. I usually get tongue-tied around celebrities -- or anyone I don't know well, actually -- but he made the conversation easy. It was weird that he called me Stephanie, but he was going off of the post-it his handler wrote out to make sure Alan spelled my name correctly.
I took notes about the encounter. Here they are (edited to be coherent to normal people):

Just met Alan Tudyk -- such a doll! He did the King Candy and Duke of Wesselton voices for the kids in front of me. The little boy was confused and Alan asked if it was weird that he sounded like the characters but looked like him, so his manager grabbed one of photos of the Duke and put it in front of Alan while he talked -- ha! The man right in front of me asked which character Alan played was the most like him, and Alan said "Wash" from Firefly: the smarmy, funny guy who, when everyone else is fighting says, "Is there a running away option?" He was drinking Starbucks and smelled of coffee. When he shook my hand he asked how I was doing and I said "I'm happy." He was so surprised that it threw him for a minute (He had written "Dear Stephanie" and it took him a minute to remember what he was going to write next). He'd never heard that before and he loved it. I said sometimes I even say it when I'm not because it cheers me up. Alan asked if I was a Firefly fan (I'd chosen a Wash photo for him to sign) and I said I was weird and saw Serenity first and went back to Firefly. He said a lot of people did that. He said the movie was good but the show was great 'cause you could tell stories forever -- the characters were great and the world created so big. I asked what "fong" (from A Knight's Tale) means and he said, "I have no idea." Everyone in earshot laughed. He guessed it might have to do with shipping, like the way "bunghole" does.

VIP ticket holders had early entry to the panels. I was not a VIP ticket holder, but my friend Laura was, and she managed to claim a few front-row seats for the Simon Helberg panel before Stephen Amell's. I am grateful that the staff doesn't make you leave after a panel. Because of that, even though I entered Stephen's panel after it started, I got to sit on the front row! Theresa and I agreed later that Laura wins at Comic Con!

Laura and I from the FRONT ROW in the main ballroom.

Stephen Amell plays the main character on the CW's television show Arrow. He reminded me a LOT of my brother Aaron. Such a nice guy, and very down to earth as he shared stories about the show and his own love for comic books. One of my favorite things he said was "In Hollywood, you are not right for any role until you're perfect for it." He told a story about actor Josh Holloway who for years struggled to find a job. Then he was cast in Sawyer in LOST and became a breakout star. The next year, the character sheets for a ton of new shows asked for a "Josh Holloway type" role. I love this reminder that sometimes there is nothing I can do at auditions to make the director cast me. I'm either what they want or I'm not. All I can be is my very best me and hope that's enough this time! The other favorite quote was about Stephen preferring to do his own stunts: "If they won't let me do it I'll demand to do it shirtless because then it has to be me!" I cracked up, because he is shirtless a LOT during the series. Guess he's just being authentic ;)

When the time ran out, Stephen invited everyone who didn't get a chance to ask their question to join him onstage for a photo. Class act all the way.

Laura and I stayed for John Barrowman's panel, too. Holy cow, he was a surprise! I was not prepared for his energy -- he was like a real-life Jack McFarlane from Will & Grace. A little inappropriate, a lot wacky, and very endearing. He answered questions with gusto, and told a few other random stories besides. I can't even describe how funny he was (this link is the worst-shot video in the world, but you get the idea). After awhile, we started assuming most of his comments were double-entendres: "You might be conservative here but your minds are very liberal... and I love ya!" "All these years, I've never really injured someone except a stuntman -- I broke his nose when I kicked him in the face -- oops!" It may be my favorite panel from any Con so far, except maybe Mark Sheppard at Fantasy Con. He began by encouraging the audience to dance with him, and then shared a silly song: "I love Salt Lake! I want to eat it like a cake! Pity that I do not bake! Except in the bedroom quake -- woo!" He ended by singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You." This man has a beautiful, beautiful voice. Do yourself a favor and watch the video below.


This photo made my day. Worth every penny and minute of time waiting in line.

After the panel, Laura did some shopping and I waited in line for over an hour for author Shannon Hale to sign my copy of Book of a Thousand Days (thanks again for the book, Most Happy Girl!). Yes, I waited longer for Shannon than I did for Alan. Fandom is weird, folks!

Then I finally had some time to wander around and take random photos to my heart's content!

Lego Justice League. So perfect!

River Song continues to dominate in the Star Wars universe.

Iron Man (with a great photo bomber).
I love my legs in this photo.

Chantryce, me, and Jillian

Logan Rogan as the 10th Doctor. Nailed it!

Someday, when I have a family, I want to do great nerdy things like all of us dress up in theme. This Doctor Who family are my heroes (even though most are villains... wait, what?)

Barbara Eden's table was within earshot of the line for the TARDIS, so Theresa and I yelled "Barbara Eden, you're beautiful!!" She turned and saw us waving and looked flattered and embarrassed. We tried to say Hi later but she wasn't seeing any more fans. Oh well. She looks goooood!

Possibly my favorite photo from the day: Angry Scully from The X-Files exits the TARDIS, unaware that she is being stalked by River Song. Theresa's costume is genius!

Laura, Theresa and me.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Almost to the point that I was picking fights. Somehow, Laura and Theresa convinced me to stay for the Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Sing Along, sponsored by the Utah Browncoats. We all hoped to win something from the raffle, but none of us did. Fortunately, we had a blast singing at the top of our lungs during the movie. So funny. It will always be a perfect way to end a great Comic Con.

I admit that my cosplay wasn't as fun as the Disney Princess one had been. Maybe I should retire River Song, and devote myself to Sleeping Beauty, just for Conventions. There's nothing wrong with being a kick-a--, independent time traveler, but once in awhile it's nice to just be adored. It made for a welcome change of pace from regular life (where I AM a kick-a--, independent woman).

Who wants to join me for the next con?!

Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, day 1

Day 1 cosplay: Princess Aurora from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.
Several women applauded my choice
of wearing blue instead of pink :D 

I had resigned myself to missing the second annual Salt Lake Comic Con. Then I got lucky and won a free multipass. What resulted was a fun and exhausting couple of days!

On the first day --  Thursday -- the Con didn't start until 2pm. That, coupled with the fact it was the ONLY day my hairstylist could see me in September, meant that I missed the first day. I didn't mind, especially when I heard how much trouble many of my friends had registering and entering the Salt Palace that evening. I had pre-registered on Wednesday (no lines, no fuss) so I don't think that would have been a problem for me. Still, it was nice not to have to deal with.

On Friday, I took the day off from work. It was the Friday before my birthday, so I probably would have anyway ;) After the check-in madness on Thursday, I was stressed that I might not get in in time for a 10:30 photo op appointment. I arrived at 9:15 -- about 45 minutes before the doors opened for multipass and single-day ticket holders (VIP and Gold pass people got to enter an hour earlier than the rest of us).

Fortunately, I was admitted with plenty of time for my photo op with Cary Elwes. Theresa and I were both a little disappointed that he chose to wear sunglasses -- we assume he had a hangover or some such -- but he was as nice as could be, sincerely complimenting our costumes before plugging his new book As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride and then putting his arms around us both for the photo. None of the other celebrities I took professional photos with took the time for any conversation. Guess Cary didn't feel rushed :) 

A good shot, even if the sunglasses make me think of Weekend at Bernie's

We found Carrie pretty quickly, and ooh'd and aah'd over her costume: Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon. She spent months creating that costume and her work paid off -- Carrie looked fantastic. She had even practiced a few of Astrid's poses, so her photos looked awesome. Good thing, too, 'cause she was stopped for photos a lot!

Carrie, me, and Theresa in front of Weta Workshop's display of Smaug the dragon from The Hobbit movies.

Kiss Me Kate nerds = friends for life

I roamed the displays by myself for a little while, resulting in some hilarious (to me) shots. I briefly toyed with a "Sleeping around Salt Lake Comic Con" photo montage... then realized that title doesn't sound very innocent!

Possibly my favorite photo of the day:
The REAL ending to Sleeping Beauty's story!
(Thanks to the 501st Legion for the actors and props)

Belle, Rapunzel, and Aurora

With Carrie, Jillian (as Rapunzel), and a random photobomber

There was no way I was going to miss Alan Tudyk's panel, even if the length of the line at the entrance meant I couldn't get into the stuffed room until 5 minutes after it started. Alan was a doll, inviting people with questions on stage with him, answering their questions, asking them questions of his own like "What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" and "What are the three things most likely stuck in your teeth right now?", and gifting every questioner with something random from his "bag 'o' shi-" (said as one word). The bag was full of souvenirs he had been given at events, like t-shirts, hats a photo book of a race he'd ran, and some sunglasses he'd only worn once because Bridget Moynahan told him they were the wrong shape for his face. He signed everything, of course. He was so candid and funny. (More about Alan Tudyk in the day 2 post.)

Manu talks about how he won his role on Arrow by accidentally knocking out his reading partner.

Last year, the only panel I went to was Manu Bennett's. At the time, I didn't know anything about him, and was pleasantly surprised to learn he was in The Hobbit movies. Since then, I have fallen in love with the Arrow television show, so it was even more fun to hear him tell stories this time. He is a charismatic, charming, and enthusiastic story teller, and his skin-tight pants and shirt weren't unpleasant to look at from my sixth row seat -- haha!

Carrie and I had a photo op with Manu after the panel. He was so excited to ask if he could borrow her ax; we think the resulting picture is brilliant! Very in keeping with his action-star status:

One of my favorite things about these local conventions is that so many of my friends are there, and most of us are okay with hanging out for a bit and then going off to do our own thing if the others don't want to tag along. Chantryce found Carrie and I around dinner time, so we wandered around for a few more adventures to acquaint her with all there was to offer. Hooray for Comic Con newbies!

With Carrie and Chantryce

Holding Carrie's ax, purse, and phone while someone asked her for another photo :)

Cobra Commander and Robin. An unlikely duo, no?

Chantryce and I with the TARDIS

Thor and Aurora would have gorgeous babies

Gotta go back in time with Back to the Future's time-travelling DeLorean.

Asleep under Bilbo's trolls from The Hobbit. Thank goodness this guy was around to save me!

Chantryce borrowed a gown to wear the next day, so of course she had to try it on :)

I was surprised at how well my Princess Aurora costume was received. I worked really hard to lose the weight so I could wear the costume, and it paid off better than I imagined! Quite a few little girls -- and almost as many parents -- asked me for a photo. Some of them didn't even know which princess I was -- guesses included Cinderella, Elsa, and Glinda -- they knew I was a princess and that was enough for them. So many of those little girls approached me with awe. I knelt down to say hi to one tiny Snow White, and she put her arms out for me to pick her up -- it was about the cutest moment of my life. I wasn't prepared for that kind of adoration. I thought I might be okay if I don't have kids; now I'm not so sure. It was cool to be a Disney princess for a day. It's a no-brainer I will be doing it again next time I have the chance!

These girls reminded me of my nieces. They hugged me tightly and pelted me with questions like "Are you a real princess?" I admitted I was not, but I think any girl who is nice and shares with her sister can be. The Captain America girl (on the right) even pulled up the hem of my skirt to look at my shoes (comfy, slightly beat-up, navy blue Toms). "So pretty!" she exclaimed.

I ended the day hearing the Salt Lake Pops play a variety of selections from science fiction soundtracks including Star Wars, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, and a medley of the Marvel films. They were fantastic!

Stay tuned for a recap of my second day at Salt Lake Comic Con!

Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience day 3: River Song, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Patrick Stewart, and more!

I decided to wear a costume on Day 3 -- one I thought might be recognized by fans. I confess, after two days of holding Carrie's purse, I secretly hoped someone would ask for MY photo at least once!

The costume I decided on was River Song from Doctor Who's "The Big Bang" episode:

Totally doable, especially since Aaron was willing to loan me his leg holster and gun. White jacket/sweater? Check. Wide belt? Check. Tight pants? Check. Bag on a belt around my hips? Check. Tight pants and knee-length boots? Check. Big, curly hair? ... Do you even have to ask? I'm actually kind of amazed how big my hair was that day.

It wasn't perfect, but I was pleased with the result:

Fun fact: I wore socks with Daleks printed on them.

Another perk of being a VIP: I got a free Thursday-only pass for a friend. It was only $16 extra to upgrade it for Saturday, so I brought my friend Theresa along. I knew she'd love all the geekiness as much as I did. Her "Captain Hammer groupie" t-shirt (from Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) was brilliant. She even had a copy of his dry-cleaning bill: "Four sweater vests!" (You better believe we had that tune in our heads all day long).

Yet another perk: I was allowed to enter the Con an hour earlier than the regular folks. This was fortuitous because the Nathan Fillion Spotlight Panel was scheduled to begin at 10am: the same time the general public was allowed in. Unfortunately, since Theresa wasn't a VIP that meant she wasn't allowed in with me, so we had to split up for the first couple of hours :(

Nathan Fillion was hilarious. Not quite as humble as Karl Urban, but just as happy to geek out with the rest of us over anything and everything science fiction, particularly his stint on Firefly. One fan asked what his favorite gig was, and he said, "You're trying to get me in trouble, aren't you?" He admitted Firefly was his favorite, and then apologized a bit to the Castle fans saying something along the lines of "If my favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate, but I've given you strawberry for the last six years, I hope you'd forgive me for liking chocolate more." Here's a chunk of the start of his panel.


Some of my favorite quotes:
On working with Joss Whedon: "I come up with a lot of ideas, 98% of which are terrible. Joss will say something along the lines of 'Yeah...! Or!' ...He has a way of saying things that doesn't make you feel like a [dummy]."

"Do any of you watch Castle?" crowd cheers. "That's what I hoped."

When asked if he still uses the Chinese curse words from Firefly: "They don't just pop out like 'Ooh! I spoke Mandarin!'"

"Never endeavor to find out where a celeb lives. There's nothing you can say that doesn't say 'I'm crazy and I know where you live.'"

He told a story about being thrilled to go out to dinner the night before with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Some fans saw them and started freaking out. Brent Spiner turned to Nathan and said "Wow." Nathan replied, "Right?" and then confessed he was thinking "Be cool! Don't blow it!"

An animation student: "I think it would be so awesome to work with you one day as an animator." Nathan: "That is correct."

The next panel in the same room was Karen Gillian from Doctor Who, so I decided to stay and creep forward to a better seat. I hoped Theresa would be able to join me, but the line to get in was massive. Fortunately, they set up an overflow room so more people could watch the panel, and Theresa got to watch that way. Unfortunately, Karen was about half an hour late, so her panel was really short. This did give me time to chat with the people sitting next to me. The couple next to me had marks on their arms and legs to count the Silence (a Doctor Who alien race you forget as soon as you look away), and mentioned they'd dressed their red-headed daughter like Karen's character, Amy Pond. I thought this was hilarious *SPOILER ALERT* because I was dressed as Amy's daughter, and thought "only on Doctor Who is it perfectly normal for the parent to be a baby and the child an adult *END SPOILER* so I asked if I could get a picture with their baby. The baby had major "stranger danger" fear, and cried inconsolably during the first attempt, but later seemed to be cool with it. In her defense, I look nothing like her mom :)

Karen's panel was a lot of fun, so I didn't much mind waiting so long for "The Girl Who Waited."

After the panel, Theresa and I finally met up again and started wandering around. To my delight, several people DID ask for a photo with me, including some who were dressed as River! A couple people even said I was the best River they'd seen that day. DAY MADE! Of course, I grabbed quite a few Doctors for photo ops. I somehow never suspected I'd have as much fun with that costume as I did! I will be wearing it again at a future date :D

The 11th Doctor and a Dalek

One of Theresa's friends, dressed as Rose Tyler

Another River :)

This family was adorable as the 10th Doctor (Dad), TARDIS (Mom),
11th Doctor (son), and Amy Pond (daughter).
I want to be this kind of parent.

I realized after walking away that River would never be so stupid
as to look away from a Weeping Angel. #cosplayfail

Laura and her husband joined us about that time, and we had a blast looking around and taking more random photos!

Theresa, Laura and I and a tiny TARDIS from the KidCon area

As an English major in college, I found that Star Trek fanfiction was a nice break from all of the heavy novels, plays, and poetry I was required to read. One of my favorite authors was Peter David. He came to the Con, and I asked him to sign my copy of his novel Imzadi (the story of how Riker and Troi fell in love). He was pretty surprised when I told him he got me through college. Nice guy!

I had held off getting a photo with the 501st Legion until I was dressed in my own space-adventure costume:

This is my favorite photo from the entire day!
I should take on an empowered persona more often.

I walked by again later and saw that Darth Vader was there, and my friend Allisha was hanging out with her kids (who are in the Legion), so we got another photo!

The Dark Side is pretty irresistible!

Joe has been a friend of ours for 20 years, so we had to get a photo with him.
He'd spent the day as a volunteer in the actor-signing area telling people on
the wrong side of the line not to take pictures, so we made sure
to point the camera away from the actors for this photo ;)

Josh, Kyle, and Mandie

Before we knew it, it was time for Adam Baldwin's Spotlight Panel. Now, I've had a crush on Adam Baldwin since I first saw Independence Day at the Villa in the summer of 1996. He played Major Mitchell, the commanding officer at Area 51, and he was dreamy. He still is. He was a sweetheart; a family man doing his job and enjoying every minute. He had great things to say about Firefly and Chuck.

I only wrote down a couple of quotes, and then decided to just listen and enjoy:
In response to someone in the crowd who yelled "I love you!": "I love you because you love me!"

"I got a ten? Yay! You know what? You all get an eleven." *Crowd cheers*

Audience question: "Do you have any regrets?"
Adam: "I should call my mom more... excuse me!"

It makes me happy when actors are nice people in real life, especially when they play a lot of grumpy characters -- haha!


After the panel, we all hurried to the photo op area for our Firefly photos with Nathan Fillion AND Adam Baldwin. Because I was VIP, Theresa and I only had to wait about 25 minutes. I know several people who were in line for over an hour. Theresa and I were so excited. We'd already decided she could claim Nathan and I claimed Adam. The wait was completely worth it. As I mentioned when I got my photo with Michael Dorn, it was over really quickly, but, Oh. My. Goodness. Those men are attractive in real life, and the energy was palpable. I was a little surprised that Nathan wasn't taller; then again, everyone looks short next to Adam ;)  They were so nice and we were so flustered that Theresa missed a chance to shake Adam's hand, and I missed Nathan saying "Thanks" to me. It was crazy.

The best part? Theresa and I both look terrific in the photo!

Of course the men look good, but she and I were like "I am totally going to display this in my living room for the rest of my life" 'cause we look cute, too! It's little wonder that on Facebook and Instagram this photo became the most "Liked" of all my Comic Con photos. We look good, and they are celebrities that people recognized. No contest: those thirty seconds were the highlight of the entire weekend.

Once we finished the photo, Theresa had to leave, and Laura and her husband planned to leave as soon as their photo was done. Fortunately, I still had plenty of people to hang out with.

Carrie and Tyler

Marinda as Rosie the Riveter

Jillian and I -- curly girls!

Before I knew it, it was time for the Patrick Stewart Spotlight Panel.

I used my VIP status to get in early again. Since he hadn't known for sure whether he could come until two days previously, he had a slightly abbreviated timeslot. He was fun and chatty and humble and kind. He talked so much that there wasn't much time for questions, but we didn't mind. It was so cool that he came after all!!


I ended the day on the front row of the Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Sing Along. Apparently, at the previous Con, they cancelled the event because of lack of interest. This time, they originally scheduled a room for 350 people, but so many of us lined up that they moved us to a room for 700 -- and the place was packed! I don't know the songs very well, so it was nice to have a good view of the words. People quoted the lines along with the actors, and we all sang at the top of our voices. I was a tiny bit disappointed that Nathan Fillion didn't surprise us by bursting in as Captain Hammer at one point. Ah, well. I can't have everything!

The movie ended at 8pm, and even though there were no more panels, there were full
carafes and empty glasses on the tables at the front of the room. Since the sing along
was the final event, Marcy and I had an ice cold drink. Tee-hee! We felt like rebels!

When I arrived home, exhausted and nursing a blister on the bottom of my right foot (that had been there since Thursday night -- thank goodness for comfortable shoes on Friday and Saturday!!), I sadly cut off the armband that had been my companion for the last three days.

Thank you, VIP armband, for all of the glorious memories and perks.
I will miss you!

Then I laid out my swag and called my mom to thank her one more time for my perfect Christmas gift.

It was an awesome three days! I am sorely tempted to do it all again in September!!

Will you come with me?

Click the links for my recaps of day 1 and day 2 at the Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience.