Man...what a trip!
So the highlight of each summer we've had for the past four years is when my dad snags me and my younger brother for a trip to Chicago for the Wizard World Comic Convention. It's always a blast, though this year wasn't too promising in terms of the guest list. Yeah, Shatner is awesome, and of course Stan Lee is going to be a major draw, but they weren't people I had a big interest in seeing. So it is with complete and utter honesty that I admit that my major reason for going this year was the fact that Brad was going to be there. I had
a couple ideas for Brad Tries, and I figured this would be the perfect time and place to deliver them.
I almost had a heart attack when I found his booth area from the map being closed off by a particularly grumpy individual who gave the typical "nothing to see here" spiel. A few minutes later I stopped back and asked a neighboring booth what had happened, and they said "whoever it was" had moved because nothing was selling. It was plain to see why, given that this area of the convention center was a shithole. I could just imagine the thought process. "Soooooo...this guy watches movies for a living, including porn...yeah, I'm sure he wouldn't mind getting shoved into this corner." Fortunately, the gentleman here gave me hope that the Stoned Gremlin team would be around yet, and after a couple of minutes snooping around, I was pleased to find that they were indeed active.
As confounded as I'm sure they were by a guy in a pig outfit stepping up to the booth (I was dressed as Marco Pagot, aka "Porco Rosso" of the Miyazaki film by the same name), Brad and Max Force were delighted that I had some contributions for the Brad Tries arsenal. The drinks looked promising, but it was his reaction to
the Miracle Berry fruit tablets that was the most entertaining: "Holy shit, it's ecstasy!" Max must have spaced out for a moment, but when he realized what I was giving Brad he quickly jumped into the conversation and was raving just as much as I was about these little pills of awesome.
I have a minor tradition; when I meet someone from TGWTG, I typically have them sign things in such a way that it makes me look like some creepy stalker. Here's Doug Walker's signature and photo from Daisho Con back in 2010...
And Linkara's signature from the same...
I explained this idea to Brad, and Max immediately came up with the best line. Here's what I got!
Now, here's where the embarassing part comes in; I bought his $20 Con DVD as well as a $20 pre-order for the Cinema Snob movie (can't wait!), and Brad added he'd give me the signed print for free. Somehow, in the deep, dark recesses of my malfuncitoning mind, this lowered the cost from $40 to
$30. After he was done, I approached Max Force and asked for the $10 in change, which he unwittingly gave to me. "He never tells me when he's giving a discount for anything." He added.
It wasn't until I was halfway across the con floor showing my Dad all the cool swag that I'd realized I'd fucked up [/i]
big time.[i] Fortunately, I was able to give Brad the $10 back. He was surprisingly cool about the whole thing - I'm talking Buddha level. I joked as he snapped a picture of my costume that he would probably print it off as a warning to security: "This person is not to be allowed within 50 meters of this booth..."
Anyway, I returned to the booth off and on again over the course of the con, just in time at one point to witness the filming of the latest episode of Flaming Brian Tries; in fact, you can see me in the background a couple of times. I wasn't
unfortunate enough to try a shot, but I did get a taste of the disappointingly mild canola sauce. Also got to meet Brian himself, who was as cool as the upper half of a McDLT.
Then before we left, I managed to squeeze in one final photo of myself and my brother with the whole gang. I love how Brian decided to approach with a Phantasm angle this time.
Thanks to the Cinema Snob crew for being a great presence at the con! Hope to see you all again soon!
