2013 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

[Inzane]

I'm surprised there wasn't a thread about this already.

Anyone here going?

Unfortunately it appears I waited to long to inquire about tickets. It looks to be completely sold out already. And they're not selling at the door this year.

Any chance anyone has an extra ticket? (Ideally a saturday day pass? not looking to do the whole weekend this year)

[Jerms]

I dont know why, but this year I bought two 3 day weekend pass but only intend on going one day (most likely Saturday). The ticks have my name on them, so i'm not sure if they can be easily distributed. If you or anyone is interested fire me a PM.

[Inzane]

I saw this on their website under ticket rules:


•Tickets are transferable, however badges/wristbands are not. You cannot purchase a 3-day pass and have 3 different people use it on different days.

[Vagabond142]

I'm going and I bought my 3 day pass in January :)

[LadyLuck]

Waited too long as well, was looking for 2 Friday passes. Doubt they will release any at the doors considering what happened last year :(

PM sent Jerms.

[haunt]

I'm going on Sunday for the walking dead panel.
Sucks that Mishone backed out and Carol is replacing her.

[drtoohotty1]

I'm going Friday, so stoked!

[Vagabond142]

Took a look at the new layout for the Con that they released on the site (calgaryexpo.com).

Dare I say it? It looks intelligently laid out. They have taken over the ENTIRE BMO center (all 5 convention halls + the corral) for the Con. Entry will be via the Corral this year instead of the insanely long lines around the BMO center hallways. All the halls will have their doors wide open and the hallways will form a "ring road" around the convention, allowing for quick movement from, say, Hall A to Hall E to the panel rooms in the Corral.

Also, because they have so much space (I think it's 470,000 sq ft total), they've widened the lanes between tables and between pods, so there is more room to flow.

I really hope it works out like the plans show, because it could go a LONG way towards alleviating the traffic jams that always happen.

[ZEDGE]

Got my tickets at work through social club. :thumbsup: Going Sunday, can't wait. :nerdout:

[Clever]

Does anyone have an extra ticket? A friend is looking for one. PM me if you do.

[Dalking]

I'll be there tonight setting up some stuff, if anything like last years setup then I will take some pics of all the cool stuff while there are no crowds for you guy!s

[Dalking]

Originally posted by Vagabond142
Took a look at the new layout for the Con that they released on the site (calgaryexpo.com).

Dare I say it? It looks intelligently laid out. They have taken over the ENTIRE BMO center (all 5 convention halls + the corral) for the Con. Entry will be via the Corral this year instead of the insanely long lines around the BMO center hallways. All the halls will have their doors wide open and the hallways will form a "ring road" around the convention, allowing for quick movement from, say, Hall A to Hall E to the panel rooms in the Corral.

Also, because they have so much space (I think it's 470,000 sq ft total), they've widened the lanes between tables and between pods, so there is more room to flow.

I really hope it works out like the plans show, because it could go a LONG way towards alleviating the traffic jams that always happen. Kandrix also took the top level of the big four for the video games and kid stuff too. :clap:

[That.Guy.S30]

Man, artists alley looks killer this year.

[Dalking]

just a quick sneek peak at whats there. alot of the same old vendors, however the amount of space that has accumilated since i saw him do the first year is amazing.


https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375047_3084308122882_911481134_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/424506_3084308762898_1112377711_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/317426_3084308322887_124965892_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/379885_3084308922902_2026224249_n.jpg

MASSIVE hobbit display.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/935604_3084309922927_2334231_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/154363_3084309642920_1771952780_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/734034_3084309482916_763259504_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/164656_3084309162908_4171013_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/935426_3084310042930_171123134_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/935285_3084312802999_448970461_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/935322_3084312402989_291119101_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/486711_3084312242985_1922568001_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/392568_3084310562943_1600591311_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/399857_3084310402939_1846449428_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/383176_3084310242935_832587094_n.jpg

[drtoohotty1]

The wrist bands seem to be the same bsd kind with no ID required so if you arnt going to use all your 3 days pass it's easy to give or sell to a friend or kijiji buyer ;)

[n1zm0]

Just saw this on reddit

http://i.imgur.com/y0wvqth.jpg

[DENZILDON]

Fixit Felix!!!

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by n1zm0
Just saw this on reddit

Why would Michael J Fox dress up as Nenshi?

[BokCh0y]

^^^

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That is an awesome pic btw.

[lilmira]

That's heavy.

[Vagabond142]

Oh good gawd... talk about a whirlwind first day. I got SO. MANY. BOOKS o_o.

I still need to organize them into piles for pictures, but here's a preview:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk13/Vagabond142/firstdaypile_zps6b701b72.jpg

[Clever]

Still looking for a ticke for a friend, if anyone has one they're not going to use let me know. It's for a chick so come on white knights, I'll forward you her contact number!

[Vagabond142]

Huge score today!

Two Soulfire Century editions :eek: :eek: #9 of 100 for Soulfire: Grace, and #18 of 100 for Soulfire regular run. Both signed by colorist and writer. :eek: :eek: :eek: For those not in the know, Century editions are extremely limited print runs of 100 comics ONLY, with a special, never to be used again variant cover. They are ONLY sold at conventions directly from the studio. Scoring a single digit Century issue is HUGE.

I am going to put my books into ComicBookRealm, then get the pictures going in the comic books thread in the general forum.

Other cool things today:

Media guests:

-Met and got autograph from Walter Koenig and had a 5 minute talk about how cool it was to work on Babylon 5. Dude is freaking OLD, but still awesome :D

-Shook Stan Lee's hand and said "Thank you" :D

-Met the cast of Torchwood (cool!).


Art and comics:

-Commissions flying left right and center! Two are done and in my art book, one is still being finished up tomorrow.

-I have so many books to organize today... although the stack is less than yesterday.

-Got an Adam Hughes sharpie head sketch (!!!!!)


Today was stellar. It was busy as all hell, BUT because it was all presold, it never got to the point of being stupidly crowded. The biggest line I was in for the day was for Stan Lee, but the old guy was just ripping through the line like nobody's business. Was an honor to meet the man and say thank you for all his years of service to the industry.

The volunteers... oh man, those guys all deserve a big thank you. You don't really notice them unless you look for them, and then you see them making sure everything runs smoothly, the artists and guests are taken care of, and in general the con just works. Without them, it would be a total shitshow.

[BokCh0y]

^^^

Thanks for the info, great to hear about the crowds, i'm going tomorrow :D - can't wait!!!

How long was the line to see Stan Lee? Was CGC there?

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by BokCh0y
^^^

Thanks for the info, great to hear about the crowds, i'm going tomorrow :D - can't wait!!!

How long was the line to see Stan Lee? Was CGC there?

CGC *is* there, but they are part of a store's booth. I forget which one :( Stan Lee's line is brutal, I would suggest going there FIRST... as in RUN to the lineup as soon as the doors are open, if you want anything signed. I think his autographs are $50 per item.

I will probably send these babies off for CGC, tbh:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk13/Vagabond142/centuryeditions_zps5728f750.jpg
:drool: :drool:


Oh, another fun bit from today :D Rikki Simons, the voice actor of Gir from Invader Zim

5xoB5fDwtc0

[That.Guy.S30]

How much was the Adam Hughes peice? I love his work. Going to Stan lee first thing tomorrow.

[Vagabond142]

Adam Hughes is doing the headsketches (and they literally take him 90 seconds to do) for $20. It's very rough, but it's an AH! piece that you can actually afford (unless you want to buy one of the covers in his folio for $6000 and be a Beyond Geek Baller :P)

EDIT: Here's my Adam Hughes headsketch

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk13/Vagabond142/ah-rogue_zps040f1bbd.jpg

[That.Guy.S30]

Nice man! Uh I promised myself not to go overboard tomorrow... Oh well!

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by That.Guy.S30
Nice man! Uh I promised myself not to go overboard tomorrow... Oh well!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Good luck with that :thumbsup:

[BigDannyCool]

they've released extra tickets for today if anyone still wants to go

http://www.calgaryexpo.com/calgary-expo-tickets/

[ffmf]

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up.

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by Vagabond142


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Good luck with that :thumbsup:

Didnt do too bad. Autograph from Stan Lee, head sketch from Adam Hughes, and a autographed book from Jamie Tyndall.

Was gonna hit up David finch and Omar dogan but didn't want to deal with the lines.

[Vagabond142]

(faceplants into bed) my gawd what a con. My legs are shot... but I'll still get pics of the small pile of comics I got today.

Biggest thing of the day was getting all my books signed, as well as submitting four books for CGC grading. I submitted: my two Soulfire century editions, X-Men #135, and Avengers Annual #10. It cost an arm, a leg, a testicle and a kidney to ship four books off, but worth it for preserving the really valuable books I have :D

Only downside to the day was that it was BLOODY COLD up on the walkway where the line was before the con opened. At least it didn't snow this year! :D

[Vagabond142]

Okay, I know more than one other Beyonder went to the comic con.

Favorite moments? Surprises?

Best costume you saw? Worst costume you saw?

Stories?

Share em all!

[Type_S1]

Alright enough about the comic books, where are the pics of girls looking slutty?

[civiclvr]

I had a fun Con... Definately got a few things and signatures I wanted. Picked up a few gifts and suprises and had one huge let down.
Nathan Fillion was my let down. I lined up very early Sunday with the sole purpose of getting his signature with the rest of my Firefly celebs. was within the first 50 people through the door and the line was already full.. about 75% red shirts (volunteers) They never opened up the line again for regular admissions again. All the VIPS and Red shirts were able to jump in whenever they wanted.

Now I get it with the VIPS.. they paid for it, but the volunteers should NOT be given preference.. they are regular joes, line up like the rest of us.

Speaking of volunteers.. I'm tired of getting yelled at to move along (specifically targetted) while in artist alley getting things signed, buying or chatting with an artist. It's not my fault the booth I want to be at is close to the corral entrance.
Even after explaining what I was doing I wasn't supposed to be there.. WTF?!@?!?!

Regardless, I did have fun, I just got tired of hearing the same shit over and over. My patience is done and it makes me less inclined to go next year. (i'll prob still go)

[ExtraSlow]

Volunteer training is a key part of large events like this, and is not something to be taken lightly by the organizers. It's also one of the hardest things to control, as you can't make too many demands on your unpaid workforce.

[Vagabond142]

There is a feedback link on the expo site, http://calgaryexpo.com/contact/

use the General Inquiries link, or the Volunteers link if you have specific grievances about specific volunteers (use time and location in the con so they can track down).

As to the volunteers, Sunday is the ONLY day they are allowed to line up for autographs, and they MUST have worked a full 8-10 hour day already to get the right. AFAIK, there was some kind of mark put on their badge to signify this to get lineup rights.

However, an I must stress this, I go to the cons for the art and the comic books. I get my media guest signatures only if I a) have the budget and b) I have the free time. For the most part, this means I go on Saturday evening or Sunday end-of-con. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm in no way an expert on media guest issues. However, I DO like how they segregated the media guests and the main con floor this year. Cut down MASSIVELY on congestion.

In fact... the only media guest I lined up for and had to wait an hour and a quarter to see was Wil Wheaton. And it wasn't even for me (I got a special surprise from Wil for a couple of my friends that weren't able to go to the Con).

As to girls dressing up slutty, I actually barely used my camera all weekend, I was nose deep in comic long boxes. I still can't believe how close I came to getting a Witchblade #1 in perfect condition.... I saw it, I wanted it, but it was in the hands of the guy buying it when I saw it. The only WB #1 I saw the entire con. I did score a WB #2 in NM/VF condition though :)

That's a bit of an aside.

There were, of course, the scantily clad at the con (I saw a slave Leia that was almost movie-perfect in terms of looks), but the big push seemed to be steampunk this year. LOTS of girls in victorian dresses, goggles, mini-tophats, etc. I think the coolest one was the older lady in an electric wheelchair (she was probably 60 at the youngest), which was done up to the NINES with clockwork gears driven off the wheels of the chair, had a slowly spinning mini propeller on the back, a steampunk flux capacitor lookalike on the front, and she was in in a steampunk getup that must have taken an hour to put on.

It's effort like that that I actually appreciate. Same can be said with the Dr Doom that metalsmithed his own silver age Doom suit, said it took him two years and about 1000 man hours to make the suit. Or the Iron Man that made his entire suit out of fiberglass over cardboard. Or the Daft Punk robot with speakers built into his suit.

And then there was the Poison Ivy in a sheer body stocking with leaves wrapped over the naughty bits.... barely.... o_O



:nut:

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by Type_S1
Alright enough about the comic books, where are the pics of girls looking slutty?

I didn't go this year, so you likely won't get any pics ;)

Vagabond chases girls in comics, I chase the girls dressed as comics :devil:

Sounds like I missed a good one, but my hip has been fucked up for the last few weeks so I needed to take a weekend and just get some rest. Sounds like I missed a reasonably organized con :(

Always next year

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by 403Gemini

Vagabond chases girls in comics, I chase the girls dressed as comics :devil:


t(^^ t)

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by 403Gemini


Sounds like I missed a good one, but my hip has been fucked up for the last few weeks so I needed to take a weekend and just get some rest. Sounds like I missed a reasonably organized con :(

Always next year

The con actually was really well organized. Yes, there were hiccups here and there, and apparently the volunteers near crowded traffic areas on Sunday had to keep telling people to move on, by order of the Stampede committee (and, ostensibly, the fire marshal, to prevent a bottleneck/traffic crush), and they took it a bit too enthusiastically.

The Con is always growing, and part of growing is growing pains.

The idea to move photo ops over to the lower level of the big four, and the kids and gaming areas to the top floor of the big four, is bloody inspired. It opened SO MUCH ROOM up in the main con. I remember going to 2006 con and it was one little hall in the big four. 2007, took over a hall in the BMO center, and was beside a woman's show. 2010/2011, when they had the entirety of halls A, B, and C for the con, that started to get congested and crowded.

Fast forward to this past weekend, and I never encountered any choke points, there was lots of space to move rapidly (wide freeways) and lots of spaces to comfortably peruse long boxes without being shoved into the table every two seconds.

If I were to have one complaint, and this is minor, it's that the taped "lanes" on the floor for the food concessions needed to actually be barriers. It caused a bit of a mess at the coco brooks near the front of Hall B, where you literally had to vault through a line to get to the washroom or the exit, and that line was thin near the concession window but a bloated massive beast the farther back it went.

Otherwise, if they keep this quality up, I'll keep going. And, Kandrix organizes and runs the Edmonton con as well, so it may be worth heading up there to give it a test at some point :) (Even though it IS in Edmonton :nut: )

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by Type_S1
Alright enough about the comic books, where are the pics of girls looking slutty?

From the CGC collector's boards, for those wanting to see the "costumes" :rolleyes: All photocredits go to Artboy99 on the CGC forums

Slave Leia
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013363_zps247b36e9.jpg

Slave Leia
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013358_zps97c897f1.jpg

Elizabeth (Bioshock Infinite)
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013320_zps9342e186.jpg

Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013329_zps5b94afc6.jpg

Latex/PVC TNG "uniform"
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013292_zps2d05e706.jpg

A fun pic, Deadpool photobombing a group. There were only about 17,000 Deadpools there o_O
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013407_zpsdf171ec9.jpg

Starfire (Teen Titans)
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013423_zpse9d5280c.jpg

Catwoman (barely >_>)
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013579_zpsf1228841.jpg

Forget the Harley... I'm more interested in the Catwoman :thumbsup:
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013161_zps05779170.jpg

Lastly, Jessica Rabbit
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013635_zpse32e36b0.jpg

If he posts any more good ones, I'll share em across to here

[Vagabond142]

The Daft Punk robot (functional shoulder speakers and a woofer on his stomach)

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013275_zpse4dec631.jpg

[Vagabond142]

No idea the costume, but still nice

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv65/Artboy99/CalgaryExpo2013169_zpsc6550b4e.jpg

[nzwasp]

My buddy stood for ages to get a photo of richard dean anderson. I can't believe how much he has let him self go since stargate was cancelled.

cut my friends out of the shot.


http://i.imgur.com/RxGf5W5.jpg

[Vagabond142]

Dude is freakin old. He's mostly a director and producer now, instead of actor, so he doesn't really NEED to stay in screenworthy shape.

That said, on the flipside, both Walter Koenig (such a quiet guy, so hard to hear, but he's so old and frail I think this is his last year on the Con circuit) and Sylvester McCoy (awesome defined) are both older and in much better shape o_O

But he still has a photogenic face at the least, and he avoids the "Dead eyes" you see in some photo op pictures. I remember seeing a two pictures that my buddies had taken, one with Brent Spiner, the other with Billy Dee Williams, and Brent has lively, humorous eyes where as Billy looks like he's just a prop, sitting there for people to pose with.

[Bladeh]

2014's tickets on sale, VIP sold out