Round-Up, Recap and Review of Rose City Comic Con

It’s been over a week since Rose City Comic Con (RCCC)*and 3 months since I've blogged, and my family and I have finally recovered from our day trip to Portland, Oregon. It was our second time attending, my husband’s first and it was WonderWomanful.

While we were stationed in San Diego, we jumped into the San Diego Comic Con craziness two years in a row. We loved it both times then, even with the massive crowds, like 150,000 geeks strong. So, when we moved to Washington State, Rose City, although 200 miles south of us was a nice outlet for our geekiness.

Last year, we enjoyed a smooth flowing RCCC. And this year, I observed that the Con grew by about 30%, but I’m not a statistician. We were able to get there by 10AM, get our passes and rush to our first panel. My kids love Adventure Time (I do too, especially after identifying BMO’s Korean accent and falling for the Korean speaking, Lady Rainicorn). Jeremy Shada, the voice talent of Finn spoke of his work. My kids quickly broke out their 3DSs and began recording video. I urged my son to ask a question, but shyness ruled.

We scoped out the Celebrity Area, obvious with the sweeping red carpet, and an RCCC Henchman urged us to approach actors if their lines were short, so we did for a few of them, for us and their egos.

I stared at Sean Astin's busy table,(Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings, The Strain) from afar, and since you get pounced on for taking pictures in this area, I just tried to paint mental pictures of higher profile celebs like Astin and Wil Wheaton.

Dirk Benedict allowed us to take a cellphone pic with him for a mere $10.00. Meeting the man from Battlestar Galactica and “Faceman” from The A Team was a childhood dream come true. He looks well for his 69 years and still has great hair. Long after my kids and I left his table, he carried on a conversation with my husband about how TV shows have changed since his time.

We met Jeremy Shada up close (who reminds me of the late River Phoenix), but of course my kids clammed up, so I did all the talking, especially about his work with Incredible Crew (I described it to him as the SNL type show my kids could watch). He asked what their favorite skit was…silence. I told him Solar System Wolf and the Pancake Genie were cool (which made me realize that I also like IC too much--too bad the show was discontinued, as he described).

I then tentatively approached and shook Michael Biehn’s hand. His dark stare made me feel like a kid again, being scared of the intensity he displayed in Terminator, so, after an awkward moment, we turned our attention to his wife, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (CSI, Dark Angel)….she asked about my kids and gushed over my daughter’s Minecraft Creeper manicure. She offered a signed picture for free (most celebs charge $30.00 or more for a signed photo) to the kids.

My hubby and I then approached Sasha Roiz, Captain Renard of GRIMM.

He was nice, lovely to look at and thanked my husband for his service in the military. My kids could care less at this point as mom and dad geeked out, and Sasha pointed at my daughter and asked if she was having a good time and laughed when she stared back at him grimly (see what I did there).

I did pay for a photo op with Ernie Hudson. He was described as a Ghostbuster, and that was indeed cool, but for me, his role in The Crow superseded all his other roles. I’m a big Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee fan, and I wore my Crow t-shirt for the photo op. He smiled and gave me a big hug at the sight.

Cosplay was awesome this year. I was impressed by the dedication and artistry overall. Most of my pictures are with Wonder Woman cosplayers and my husband continuously pointed me in the direction of the numerous Wonder Women, but I was a bit snobby about who I posed with. I didn’t much care for the disco version of Wonder Woman, for example (spandex camel toe was not my thing). My favorite WW was Retired Wonder Woman. After a pic together, she told me to follow her on “twatter” in her raspy voice, and now I do. She ended up winning 1st place in the adult cosplay division.

I am very impressed again with the organizers of Rose City Comic Con. It is an annual family event for us and I’ve described going to cons to my non-geek friends as my Superbowl. The event continues to grow, and it may very well get as mammoth as San Diego’s, but until then (and especially when), keep up the great work and we can’t wait for next year.

Sincerely,
Guam Goddess in Training and her Geek family

Remembering Brandon Lee

Happy 47th birthday to the Dragon's son.

So, I posted this one line above last night, on the actual birthday of Brandon Lee. I can’t lie, when I was a teenager, I dreamed of marrying him one day. Bruce Lee’s son! I was going to be Brandon’s wife, chill with Shannon (his gorgeous sister) and have Bruce Lee’s grandchildren…

Anyway, being 18 and still obsessed in anything Bruce Lee, I followed Brandon’s acting career. The Crow was in production, then the worse happened. He died as a result of an injury he sustained on the set. This was 1993. The movie was completed and I waited and waited (on Guam) for its release. I was 19 by this time. This was before streaming video, Youtube and instant gratification of any sort. So after 4 months, I sat in the theater with my youngest brother. I was tense and emotional throughout the movie, wondering if they would show the scene in which he was shot (doubting they would). I came out of the movie, satisfied, sad and emotionally drained.

I was glad to find out that Brandon had a lovely fiancee’, but sad that they never got married or had children (yes, I thought it would be me-but I’m also a realist). I remember showing a magazine photo of Brandon and his gorgeous wife-to-never-be to my mom and she said, “Too bad they didn’t have children. Did they?” No. No legacy.

Moving on, Brandon would have been 47. I’m sure he would have still looked great, practicing martial arts, filling in the niche of action hero, maybe making a leap to dramatic roles. He had the chops.

With that said, here’s to living your life to its fullest potential. Something I struggle with daily. The people who die young, like Brandon and his father, Bruce, who are full of talent, life and awesomeness—they burn bright and explode with beauty. A quick firework show for us to enjoy in the short time it’s on….but always remembered.

ESTA LATER!