Monday, August 25, 2014

Did Chauncey DeVega Survive His Epic Battle With Godzilla? Photos and a Report from Chicago Comic Con 2014


I had a great time at Chicago Comic Con 2014. I would like to thank all of the nice people who threw money into the donation bucket to make that trip possible. I did not need my Stree Overlord pills. However, I did engage in an epic battle with Godzilla--that I lost in short order. I was subsequently healed with a large dose of beer, chicken tenders, and supplies from the Dollar Store.

The Star Trek panel was fun. After seeing all of the Star Trek. The Next Generation cast and William Shatner together, my suspicion that the latter really is a bit of a "challenging" personality is now fully confirmed. When the panel inevitably makes its way to Youtube, do watch it to see Shatner's perpetual line stepping and Burton's putting him back in his proper place.

Here is a picture of Brent Spiner ("Data") and Levar Burton ("Geordi") from their Q and A session on Saturday:


I attended the Guardians of the Galaxy panel featuring Michael Rooker and David Batista. I was lucky enough to ask Batista a question which he answered in a direct and honest fashion--there is something down to Earth and real about the brother. He came up the hard way, becoming a wrestler and an actor relatively late in life. You can sense that in his demeanor. The panel was fun and we all got the added bonus of doing some Groot dancing...


There were some great costumes at Chicago Comic Con. The amount of detail and time that cosplayers put into their work is very impressive. The difference between the average and expert costumes are significant: it is all in the details, commitment to accuracy, materials, and craftsmanship.


My favorite group costume was the Ghostbusters. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Louis Tully stole the show:


Nearby, Godzilla, The Silence, a Cylon, and Dark Thor waged an epic battle:


The crafting involved in Thor's suit is amazing:


Lego Wonder Woman watched from the shadows. Thor did not need her help:


As a bonus, what does 1 billion dollars look like? William Shatner


Again, thank you so very very much for sending me to Chicago Comic Con 2014. With batteries recharged, I can start the new school year. Excelsior!

13 comments:

Buddy H said...

Just to give you an idea how long Shatner has been around, here's a clip from 1959 (1959!) of Shatner on the Saturday Night Beechnut Show (later re-named "Dick Clark's American Bandstand")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqKdrvMDjkI



I was a one-year-old baby when this first aired, and I'm 56 now. I can't imagine someone being in show business all those years. Is Shatner a vampire?

kokanee said...

Good. Now that this nonsense is over, get back to work!

I'm kidding, of course. I'm glad you had a great time and that you got a much needed break from WARN which is, as necessary as it is, not the happiest of subjects.

chauncey devega said...

I needed a break from all of the necessary mess we are obligated to discuss this summer. Again, thank you for the support in going to Comic Con. As you can see, I miraculously survived my thrashing from Godzilla.

chauncey devega said...

I think that he and Paul Mooney are bathing in virgin's blood to stay here so long.

kokanee said...

Hey - other than the squished head, you look great!

Buddy H said...

I saw Paul Mooney at a comedy club back in 1986. He'll never stop.

chauncey devega said...

What was he like?

Black Romulan said...

You got to meet Dave Bautista? That must've been a double nerdgasm for you - comics + wrasslin'. I'm glad you had a lot of fun there, cheers!
BTW, did Michael Dorn mention any thing about Capt. Worf during the panel?

chauncey devega said...

Funny that you mentioned that. He responded to a question with the observation that the role was just an interesting part and nothing transformative for him. I wonder what his private answer to a black person asking him a similar question would be.

Black Romulan said...

Bah, I don't believe him. Seems like Worf is to Michael Dorn's acting career as Fraiser Crane is to Kelsey Grammer's acting career. He may say outwardly the part wasn't personally transformative but he'd be hard pressed to deny its expansive cultural impact or the role's place within the Trek pantheon. If Joseph Campbell's work teaches us nothing it is that national cultural heroes like Worf live on long past their inception, and Worf is a culturally positive sci-fi role that will definitely live long and prosper in the genre.

But I'm just some dork named Black Romulan. I'm obviously nerdishly biased.

chauncey devega said...

So many complements :) Back to the fight!

Buddy H said...

The comedian who was on before him was a white guy, a substitute teacher, who told some rather mean jokes about his disadvantaged students, calling them "criminally insane" etc. At first he got laughs, but finally the room got silent, and he was sweating and bombed badly.


But Mooney came out next, and he was PISSED! He was pissed at the comic, and he was pissed at the audience for the few laughs. He didn't seem to understand how badly the previous comic had bombed. So instead of doing comedy, he launched into an abusive tirade against the audience. I remember a jewish guy sitting next to me, and Mooney basically scanned the room and insulted everybody. The jewish dude was frozen with horror when Mooney spat out the word "jew" at him. In Mooney's mind, the audience had somehow been on the previous comedian's side. I wanted to tell him how much we hated the guy, that we agreed he was a racist asshole. Instead we got yelled at.


Finally, Mooney walked off. The next comic, a lady, came on and said "Paul has left the building. He has a separate limo for his ego."


I don't blame him for being pissed at some of the stupid jokes of the previous comic, but Mooney was definitely an asshole that night.

chauncey devega said...

Live Grooting was awesome. We need to get the next generation ready.