Cody and Curt go to Comic-Con

Today I did something new. Something different. Something that I wish I felt a little more uncomfortable doing than I did. I embraced my nerdy side. I went sci-fi. I went to Comic-Con.

For those of you who do not know about this artistic expression of pop culture (a.k.a. nerd-fest), Comic-Con is a convention for the world of fantasy entertainment. It is short for Comic Book Convention, and is primarily dominated by comics but includes various other collectables such as action figures (both new and vintage), fantasy art, anime and other pop culture and sci-fi memorabilia. I’m not going to try and justify this. It was a freak show and I was in the middle of it. I grew up reading comic books (mainly Superman and Batman) and have always been a huge Star Wars fan, so I understood much of the chaos around me. This genre, like any other, of course has a contingency of fanatics (I try to maintain a certain cool about myself so as not to become one of these) that attend these events regularly hunting for memorabilia and celebrity autographs, and yes they often come in costume. I have never been to Comic-Con before, so when my friend Cody invited me, I was definitely in.

Amy has been giving me a hard time all week with phrases like “You know I love you no matter what,” and “Don’t try to pick up any stray Princess Leias,” but I have to admit, I was a little excited about going. I took my camera (but I only took one lens and it was so crowded I had to shoot in a hurry…so the shots aren’t great, sorry) so I could share my experience and educate you all on the phenomena that is…Comic-Con.

We arrived around noon and paid our $23 for a ticket (which got a stack of bad comic books and the privilege to spend more money at the booths) and were greeted a the door by the following:



Cody pulled the “Jedi mind trick” and he allowed us to pass and enter the world of Comic-Con. After stopping by a couple of booths and checking out some extremely expensive comic books, we found a small “arena” that housed this guy:



Yeah…he’s serious. He wasn’t laughing (or even cracking a smile), he was like those guards with the furry hats in London. This guy played the part. For a couple of bucks you could enter the “arena” with a foam sword and try to take this guy on. I didn’t do it because he was beating the crap out of a little kid when we walked up and I thought “If he’s doing that to a little kid, what would he do to me?” I wasn’t necessarily afraid of getting hurt…but I do have a shred of dignity left. I couldn’t allow myself to get mauled by a guy in a loincloth.

After shopping a few more booths we stumbled onto the following artist:



I thought this was pretty cool. I don’t know what a guy would do with this, but it was pretty impressive. He was looking at a comic book cover and reproducing it large scale. I don’t think this shot really does it justice.

Next came the highlight of my day…the celebrity autograph tables. Ok, the lower level celebrity autograph tables. You had to pay another $15 to enter the room with all the “upper level” celebrities, and frankly I thought $23 (plus the money I spent on a few random items) was enough money to spend at Comic-Con, so I opted not to go into that room (you still had to pay for autographs and photos when you got in there). There were a few celebrities out on the main floor. I saw Dermot Crowley (he portrayed General Madine in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; sorry, no pic, he was charging $20 bucks for a Polaroid), and I shook hands with Lou Ferrigno (the Incredible Hulk from the 1970’s television show; again, no pic, he was also charging $20 for a Polaroid). I also saw Noel Neill. Ms. Neill portrayed Lois Lane in 78 episodes of the original Superman television series that aired from 1953-1958. She also played cameo roles in the 1978 Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, and the 2006 film Superman Returns. Ms. Neill is almost 87 years old and was the sweetest little lady. She let me pose with her for a picture, and this was truly the highlight of my day.



I feel as though I learned some important things today. One of the things I learned today is that people should be taught in school that it is simply never appropriate to dress like Princess Leia from Return of the Jedi (yeah…the coconut shell bikini outfit). I also learned that yes… there is someone for everyone (these nerds had girls on their arms…some of which were dressed up as well). I learned that even 30 years out of his prime, the Hulk is still a scary guy. I also learned that maybe I’m a nerd too…and that’s ok.

What do I have to be Thankful For?

3…2…1…it’s go time. I step out of the car with my covered dish, deviled eggs. These are not just any deviled eggs, they are my secret recipe, and have been requested at the highest level. Is it the only dish I am trusted with not to make a disaster of…maybe. I begin my journey, dish in hand. A mere two steps from the car I encounter my first obstacle. “Hey Curt, you wanna throw the football?” Luke asks, nerf ball in hand. “Maybe in a minute,” I reply as I place another protective hand over my prized eggs. The assault continues as Robert meets me at the door with the following greeting, “Ah Curt…have an eggs-ellent Thanksgiving.” I laugh heartily as I inch through the door and wonder to myself, did I laugh to hard or not hard enough. Did he believe I was laughing at his joke, or does he know that his joke is not really funny? As I am pondering the comedic endeavors of my uncle I am spotted by Camden. Unfortunately I am so wrapped up in my thoughts that I make eye contact with him for a brief moment. This is a mistake of gigantic proportions (Camden is afraid of me, and only tolerates my presence as long as I never look at him). Camden runs away screaming for his Daddy while Amy gives a ‘what the heck did you do to him’ look. As I am trying to defend myself for my “eye contact infraction” I almost step on Kyden, who smiles and greets me with what in most cultures would be considered nothing less than a scream. I jump (from the volume of the scream), roll to the right to avoid creating another crying child situation (which would also be considered my fault) and come face to face with Ryan. “Hey Curt, you wanna play Madden with me on PS2?” he asks non-challantly. I respond with, “I need to get this to the kitchen, bud,” because getting schooled by a ten year old on a game that is beyond my understanding is not how I want to spend the day. The next three things all happen in less than two seconds and require no more than simple explanations. A random flying object hits me in the side of the head, Sally (a dog) runs past me knocking me into a side table, and Maya blows her nose on my jeans. I see an opening into the kitchen, so I make my move (without wiping off my jeans…I don’t have time for trivial luxuries like removing the snot from my clothing). Holding the eggs high above my head I turn sideways and squeeze through the kitchen door. As I do this I hear Uncle Rob (who is actually an Aunt, but her husband’s name is Robert so everyone calls them “The Uncle Robs”) yell, “Who hit Curt in the head with that toy?” I find the last free space on the counter and deliver my eggs to their rightful spot, I’m almost home free. As I make my way back into the living room I see Josie jumping up and down on the recliner, Emma approaches her…this is my chance. As they both go running off together giggling I slide into the recliner and throw back the lever. I close my eyes and everything fades to black…my work here is done!

Work Can Be Fun Sometimes

I had to shoot something work related again tonight. The good news is I have some shots I can share. Our Ministry team put together a DNOW (which used to stand for Disciple Now, but now I'm told stands for Discovery Now) and they brought in a band to lead worship. I took this opportunity to extend my photographic duties to including the band as well. I think I got some pretty decent shots, and I definitely had a little fun.