Dallas Fan Days 2013 - Saturday, Part One

Alas, I was unable to procure the day off for the first day of Dallas Fan Days 2013.  This inspired me to arrive bright and early on the second day.  I was also inspired by the incoming weather - the first big cold front of the Fall was coming along with a rainstorm and I didn't fancy waiting to enter the convention outside.  Thankfully, the lines this time were kept within the parking garage next to the convention center and the rain held off until the convention was well and properly started.



I met this group of teens  while waiting in line to get in. It was their first time cosplaying and I think they did a fine job. That's The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Clara Oswin Oswald for you non-Whovians out there.     
I don't know why the Dovahkiin is hanging out with the ladies from The Guild.
And I'm too wise to question The Dragonborn.


Reese of Reese's Pieces as The Goblin King from Labyrinth.


THE Taffeta Darling as Lo Pan from Big Trouble In Little China along with a dressed down Lhars.  Sadly, I missed their Disney Villains group the day before, when they were Captain Hook and Maleficent.


Looks like the wolf wasn't so big or bad after all.     
Michael Champion of Epic Studios - a great artist and a great man - hard at work.


Rhianna - Epic Studios' chief model and marketing specialist - as Poison Ivy.


Apparently I took this Wonder Woman's picture sometime last year when she was Batgirl.  I''m afraid I didn't remember her, but this is a nice costume, regardless.


Quite possibly the most elegant TARDIS I have ever seen.


I was one of the first to recognize Gozer the Gozarian as she stalked the floor of Dallas Fan Days.
And yes, I did tell her I was a god.

All-Con 2013: Day Two - Part One

Note To Self: The next time you teach a class at a convention, do not agree to a 9 AM start time the morning after you're up until 4 AM driving home from a late night performance. Good advice to anyone, I think.

My first class of the day - indeed, the first class of everyone's day on the second day of All-Con 2013 was Time Keeps On Slipping: The History of DC Comics.   Naturally speaking on such a complicated and difficult subject involving multiple time-lines, alternate universes and other wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey matters required a good deal of inspiration.  And what better inspiration could there be than dressing up like The Doctor?


Of course I was far from the only Doctor Who in attendance.  Heck, I wasn't even the only Tom Baker Doctor present.  Of course having all these Doctors running around risks warping the space-time continuum.  If one isn't careful one can wind up with a Pair Of Docs.    



Geddit?  Paradox!  Ha!

Doctors of all kinds abound at All-Con as The United States of Geekdom held a second showing of Doctor Horrible's Singalong Blog Saturday morning.  This time, the show was prefaced with an evil laugh contest, with the winner winning a small statue of the character of Penny.  I'd show you a picture of the proud winner but modesty forbids my putting my own picture in a report more than twice.

Besides, I'd much rather show you a picture of this amazing Dr. Horrible cosplayer and the equally amazing Penny cosplayer who was with him.  To my astonishment, she said I was the only person who realized she was supposed to be in costume.  I sympathize.  Many's the convention I cosplayed Jack Knight only for people to think I was just some random steampunk with goggles and a bomber jacket.


With that done and no solid plans until my next panel in the early evening, I opted to wander the floor and take a few cosplay pictures.  I swung past the ADD booth and snagged this picture of my friend Rikku, who was dressed as Yoko Littner from the anime Gurren Lagann.  This is an old costume for her but it's the first time I've ever snagged a pic of her in it.


I think Browncoats may outnumber Whovians at DFW cons.  At least, it seems like I saw just as many characters from Firefly as I did Doctor Who characters on Saturday.  Take this pair - Jayne Cobb and the most cheerful Malcolm Reynolds I've ever seen.


Here we have a Kaylee, in her pretty dress from the episode 'Shindig'.



Mash-up costumes are a common theme at many conventions now.  Take two films or shows and combine them together to make something new.  This can get quite wacky at times and/or prove quite brilliant.  I think this example is brilliant - Jayne Cobb as a Ghostbuster!  Shockingly, his proton pack is not name Vera. 



Of course you'll see the more mainstream science-fiction and fantasy represented at a big convention like this.  Jedi and Sith abound.  And then you get something truly intricate and impressive like this Queen Amidala from Star Wars: Episode One.  


Video game character cosplayers, like Cammy from Street Fighter here, are also a common sight at All-Con.


My favorite animated movie of the past year was Wreck-It Ralph.  So it did my heart good to see this trio, bringing Venelope, Ralph and Candlehead to life.


 Meeting new people is part of the point of a convention, of course.  But meeting up with old friends is also quite fun.  Friends like my buddy Taffeta Darling, who spent Saturday playing the part of Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors when she wasn't hosting her own events.


Also in attendance was frequent Taffeta Darling collaborator Lhars Ebersold.  You might recognize her as the Pris to Taffeta's Zhora from my Dallas Sci-Fi Expo photos.  This day, she was resplendent as the best damned Mystique I've ever seen.  And I've seen a few.  You can check out Lhars' artwork here.


It was at this point that your reporter found himself in need of a nap and a meal and departed the convention proper to seek out both.  The morning was over but my day was just beginning... 

Dallas Fan Days - Day Three - Part Three

I call this set of pictures, Old Friends & New.

 Taffeta Darling (Two Face above) and some friends formed a group of cross-played Batman villains. 

 Jeremy and I met the day before in the line for Felicia Day autographs.  Then, he was dressed as Buddy Christ from Dogma.  Today, he was Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He took most of the pictures you see below that I am in.

 I ran into Krystal here when Jeremy spotted her from afar in the middle of a crowd.  Naturally, we had to pose a bit together for the teaming masses.  Turned out we had some mutual friends in the local costuming community yet somehow didn't know each other.  Small world, eh?.

"Look, Ollie!  I'm just like you now!"

 Artemis: Do you want the mustache on or off?

Green Arrow: Uh.. off, please.
Artemis: Too bad!

 Me and Alan Tudyk, who voices Green Arrow on Young Justice.

  I kept my promise to Felicia Day and let her see both costumes.  She still preferred Hobo Ollie Queen.

Dallas Fan Days - Day One, Part One.

So far, Dallas Fan Days 2012 is a vast improvement over the chaotic mess that was Dallas ComicCon 2012.  Granted, this was their first time holding a con on a Friday and the odds were the crowds would be much smaller.  Still, the staff seem better equipped to handle a large crowd and there are numerous locations selling cold drinks around the convention center this time around. 

Time will tell tomorrow and prove the effectiveness of the new layout, which should better distribute the crowds waiting for certain guests.  That's the hope, at least.

For myself, there wasn't much to do today but wander around, pose for pictures and snag a few of my own.

 Me and Taffeta Darling of CurvesAndComics.com.  In case you couldn't guess, she's the one on the left.

With Finn from Adventure Time and Deadpool being the most popular costumes at cons this year, I suppose it was inevitable someone combine the two.  The crossplay Loki is my friend Dianne.

 Wonder Woman, Lady Flash & The TARDIS.

 My friends Terry Parr and Halo Seraphim of Sho'Nuff Studios.

These two ladies are dressed as Tom Servo & Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000.  They apparently run a site called Nerd Alert Designs that creates custom dresses and costumes.  Check them out.

 The Scarlet Witch.

 Cross-Play WWII-Era Captain America

Ms. Marvel.

This Dalek tried to make everyone think it was peaceful by wearing a fez.  Luckily I was on hand to neutralize it with my trusty Sonic Screwdriver, a yo-yo and a box of Jammy Dodgers.

Ha!  No, actually this Dalek was camped out at the table of the blokes organizing WhoFest - a Doctor Who con planned for November 2013 in Dallas, just in the for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.

 

Black Widow.

Roll 2 Play - A New Game Shop in DFW.

Roll 2 Play has been a staple of Dallas/Fort Worth conventions for as long as I can remember. Until recently, the small business ran entirely through booths at conventions and their website. Today, that changed as Roll 2 Play opened up their first storefront.

Located in Coppell, Texas, just a little bit south of the intersection of Sandy Lane and Denton Tap Road, the Roll 2 Play store boasts lots of tables and chairs for in-store gaming as well as an entire backroom devoted to free-play. Numerous gaming events will be scheduled throughout the week. A shame it's a bit out of my way - otherwise I'd love to attend their Munchkin night.

It wasn't quite SDCC but there were a few points during the day where navigating the store was a tricky task. It was made slightly trickier by the cosplayers who were in attendance for the costume contest, as well as several members of The 501st and U.S.S. Navras cosplay groups. The two groups were holding a friendly competition to raise funds and collect games for their respective charities. The Trekkers won in the end but a game like this lets everyone win!




Adding to the comic-convention feel were a number of celebrity guests, including The Trials and Tribulations of Miss Tilney author David Doub, my friends from the United States of Geekdom podcast and the lovely and talented Taffeta Darling of Curves And Comics.



It was a good afternoon, all in all. I got to talk with some old friends, make a few new ones and I finally tracked down a copy of Monty Python Fluxx! So if you're a gamer in the DFW area looking for a fun place to play or you're a gamer anywhere who is looking for a nice, friendly game shop that will ship you what you want, give Roll 2 Play a try.