The Blog to Nowhere

Last day of the expo. Last appearance ever of Stan Lee at the expo. Last day to hang out with a horde of geeks.

As much as I complain about how tired I am, I do love this weekend. It's the best time of the year. It's the only comic book expo or con that I know I will be attending every year since it's right in the city. Not everyone has a big convention in their own backyard.

( Last day of the expo details behind the cut )

Well, until next year. I actually think I'm running out of people that I want to see. The expo is getting that good at booking the actors that I love. Just get David Tennant and all will be right with the world.

As I mentioned on Sunday, the local comic book expo was teasing a big guest. They did the announcement today and, sadly, it's not David Tennant as I had hoped.

But it's still someone I want to meet: Alan Tudyk!

That means one more autograph to add to my Serenity comic book. Once I get Alan to sign it, that just leaves Gina, Ron, and Sean. Whoo hoo!

Hmm, I started collecting Firefly cast autographs back in 2007. That's two thirds of the cast in nine years by the time the expo happens in April next year. Not bad considering I didn't have to leave the city to get any of them. Now, if the expo can secure the rest of the cast and do a Firefly reunion, I would be over the moon. :-D

And off topic, but I noticed that Jenna Coleman is attending Emerald City Comic Con in April. Good to know she's still doing cons. Maybe the expo can entice her to come back to Alberta...

- I can't believe that it's been ten years since Serenity came out. I still remember the heady excitement the day the movie came out. I actually managed to meet up with some of the local Browncoats and it was such fun, sitting in that theatre, waiting for the show to start. We sang "The Hero of Canton" and "The Ballard of Serenity". There's nothing like seeing a movie with a room full of fans. You're all on the same wavelength and you all feel it when the hard moments come. I will never forget the moment when [ten year old spoiler]Wash dies. Everyone was laughing at the "leaf on the wind" joke and then bam! Reaver spike through the window and there's just stunned silence. It's still amazing how the scene can go from such a high moment to a low one.

- It seems very doubtful that we'll get more Firefly on our screens. The best we can do is the Firefly Online game when it comes out. I'd like an animated Firefly series, though. It'd be cheaper and you don't have to worry about the actors aging. It worked for the original Star Trek, so why not Firefly? Most of the cast has done voice over work by now - hell, it seems like most of the DC Animated Universe is made up of Whedon alums - so you know they can deliver the goods.

- I started reading Cinder, the YA book series retelling Cinderella with a cyborg, and it's okay so far. I like the setting, which is futuristic Chinese, but I think I've already figured out the twist in the plot. It also bugs me how there must always been a romance in YA books. Yes, this is Cinderella, so there has to be a prince, but why does Cinder need to fall for him? I'm only half way through the book, so maybe things change down the line, but it gets so boring, seeing her angst over the prince. Oh, I was very pleased to see that the book was written in the third person. So many YA books are written in the first person and it feels so lazy to me.

- Trying to figure out a Halloween costume for this year. I have plenty of cosplays to choose from, I just can't decide which one to do. I kind of want to do something new, which is kind of ridiculous since I don't need to spend more money right now, but I think I could cobble together something from stuff I already own. Like, Shaun from Shaun of the Dead. I have a white, short sleeve dress shirt and black slacks and I can borrow a cricket bat. I would just need a red tie. Easy peasy!

- Anyone reading the new Serenity comic? The first issue was out this week. With Buffy and Angel living on in the comics, it seemed only natural that Firefly would join them, too. Seeing as we won't get another movie, likely ever, this is the next best thing.

Just some initial thoughts:

( Spoilers for Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 )

I'm a bit conflicted about the art. Georges Jeanty worked on seasons eight and nine of Buffy and I never really warmed to his style. Sometimes it worked, but other times, the characters didn't look at all like the actors. I know when you're drawing comics based off of a TV show it's a little difficult to capture the actors' likeness, but you shouldn't have to guess who someone is at times. At the same time, it's dramatic license so I can overlook it, which will be easy to do if the story is really good.

At six issues, it's not a sprawling story like seasons of Buffy and Angel, so I worry it's not enough time to tell a decent story. In the end, though, I just want the comic to do well so they keep doing them.

- So yeah, went on vacation again. Did a week long cruise of the Caribbean. Visited five islands and Puerto Rico to boot. It's safe to say that hot weather does not agree with me. I'm accustomed to Canadian weather, where summertime temperatures rarely go above 30 C. A whole week of 27 - 28 C? Yeah, it's a nice break from winter but it's a little uncomfortable for me.

But aside from that, it was a great vacation. I've never been to the Caribbean before and it's gorgeous there. Turquoise water. It's real! It's not Photoshop. And everything is so green and lush. I was showing my co-worker some of my photos and there were times when I couldn't tell the islands apart.

I was expecting more pirate themed stuff at the ports, since actual pirates used to sail around those islands, but alas, there wasn't much. There was lots of rum, though. :-)

- Returned home to the usual madness at work. :-P And so many people are sick. What were you guys doing while I was away? One co-worker keeps telling me to sanitize my hands every time I leave her cubicle. Oh well, that's cold and flu season for you. Remember to wash your hands, everybody!

Whew, last day of the comic book expo. It was a lax day for me. I got all of my photos and autographs done Friday and Saturday so today I just got to sit in on panels. I'm still dead tired so a full weekend report later, but some highlights:

- Sylvester McCoy did a panel. It was in one of the smaller rooms, but the super cool part was he was nice enough to walk out into the room during the Q and A session. Instead of fans lining up behind a microphone, Sylvester walked over to them with his mic. So even the fans in the back got to see him up close. He mentioned he was just in Australia to do a 50th anniversary con so he flew directly from there to here. Crazy. And I just loved it when he rolled his Rs. :-)

- John Barrowman was right after him and I got to see his underwear again; Spider-Man this time (Edit: I forgot to mention that John dropped his jeans at the Torchwood panel the day before; he wore Iron Man undies). Oh, John.  :-) More hijinks obviously, including him kissing the moderator and a really cute guy dressed as Eleven. The moderator, Ajay from Space, he had kissed before in Toronto last year. And John just kissed the Eleven cosplayer because he was so cute. He said he was flirting with Eleven all weekend and I'm sure everyone in the room was super jealous. So Jack sort of got to kiss Eleven. ;-) He also addressed the fact that he's not in the 50th anniversary special. It was the show's choice, not his, so what are you going to do?

- I sat in on a Game of Thrones panel, just so I would have a seat for Nathan's panel, which was after. I'm not that interested in the books or the series, but this was Peter Dinklage's first con, so that was cool. And there were two Sarah Connors at the expo. I totally forgot about that. Linda Hamilton and Lena Headey. Apparently they got to meet.

- Nathan's panel. :-D He's from Edmonton, the rival city, so he joked that it was the warmest welcome an Edmontonian had ever received in the city. He was super funny and charming. He said he misses how simply polite people are in Canada; there's not a lot of that in L.A.

The expo fixed a lot of the problems from last year, so that was cool. Took people a while to get in today, though, for some reason, so yet again, the news had footage of angry geeks. But I think from now on the show will run smoothly.

I don't know who else they could have as guests now. They brought in Nathan so my life is complete. More Doctor Who guests would be cool, for sure. I saw so many Elevens running around today so there is interest. Meh, whoever they get, I know I'll be there.

This seemed like a no brainer to make. With two of my favourite sci-fi captains in one place in April, I felt like I had to pay tribute to that:


I'm kind of tempted to get this printed out on photo paper and then have John Barrowman and Nathan Fillion sign it. Hmm...

Oh man, I wish I could have seen this in person:



Too bad the entire cast couldn't be there, but it was still awesome. The ending was especially good. I can't wait to see the special that the Science Channel filmed while at Comic Con.

And the promise of more Serenity comics set after the movie. Hell yeah!

The local comic book expo held a screening of Serenity tonight, which was awesome. I hadn't seen the movie on the big screen since, well, since the movie first came out. It's so nice watching it with other Browncoats. You all laugh at the same places and we still all laugh even though everyone's probably watched Serenity like a dozen times. And Wash's death still hits you like a tonne of bricks. Everyone's laughing, ha, leaf on the wind, and, oh, much sadness. It's the hallmark of anything Joss writes. Humour and angst all within the same breath.

And Adam Baldwin's coming to the expo! Whoo! I totally called it. I noticed he'll be appearing at two other cons next year, so it it seems he's doing the con circuit. Likely because Chuck got cancelled; the man has some free time now. The expo people also acknowledged that they've been trying to get Nathan Fillion as a guest for a few years now but still no luck. Damn you, Castle! ;-)

I think the expo should have a panel with Adam Baldwin and James Marsters, who's also coming. Both of them were on Angel but they also did a DC animated movie together, Superman: Doomsday. The fine men of the Whedonverse in one place. Why not?

I hope someone starts belting out "The Hero of Canton" during Adam's panel. :-)

A convenient master post to keep track of my fanfic. Listed by fandom.

( Buffy the Vampire Slayer )

( Doctor Who )

( Firefly )

( Crossovers )

So while watching an episode of Doctor Who called "Warriors' Gate" I noticed something interesting.


This is the ship from the episode. Is it just me or doesn't it look a lot like...


Serenity? The engines on the side of ship are a bit different, but the basic shape is the same.

I like to think it's a Firefly, only a later production model. ;-)