DRAGONCON Part One:

Folks, I attended my 9th Dragoncon, I believe, this year...and it was one of the greatest adventures in my memory. It will take more than one post to give you the full view of it all, so I will make one for every day. My crew (Sweet Will and Pecker) and I hit the road at 4 a.m. and arrived in Atlanta around 10ish. After securing the car, we checked in at the hotel, got our badges, and proceeded to have a leisurely lunch, awaiting the con to open. JJ and his wife Joanne were on the road also, due to catch up with us later. When we hit the con, I had several things to do: Get pictures with my digital camera I am finally learning how to use, get my Serenity poster signed by Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk, buy books and get signatures from Peter S. Beagle and Peter David, get a signature in my writer's book from Paul Dini, get a couple of dvd's and signatures from George Romero, and of course: get signatures and a sketch from V for Vendetta artist, David Lloyd. This alone would be plenty for a mortal man to accomplish, but that was outside of the art I wanted to procure. I had to skip Heroes Con earlier this year, so my original art obsession had not been fed recently, nor had my joy for attending conventions...I meant to enjoy this one in every way possible. Also, it was probably the last chance for my "Year of the James" piece from the Grandmaster Illustrator, Brian Stelfreeze, with an addition to the two watercolor pieces that I have from him already. In other words, folks...my expectations were quite high. I proceeded to get some autographs done, (Summer Glau is only more breathtakingly beautiful in person than on film), and take care of a few odds and ends for other people. I always try and get as much free stuff as I can for my students back home, and had brought along several requests which I was determined to meet...if at all possible. (It pays dividends in loyalty later if I hook them up with stuff.) Anyway, no art procured on day one...but it ended with JJ and Joanne showing up, hooking up with my pal, HAL, and going to DRAGONCON WRESTLING. This has become an annual tradition for us, attending this "Z" level pro wrestling spectacle, where JJ is the King of Commentating Fans. It usually varies from terrific (bloody Abdulla the Butcher episode and the infamous "cheese-grater incident") to horrible (we actually walked out last year)...but this year was AWESOME. They brought out the cheese grater again, probably due to our insistence and the legend we had created 3 years earlier. The show was okay...but JJ and the crew were in rare form, and it made the night one to remember. Even if you are not a pro wrestling fan, and I can't imagine JJ's wife Joanne is...you have to go to this thing with a great crew to enjoy the spectacle. Professional Wrestling is a unique expereince where the crowd's participation will make or break the show. We laughed so hard that it hurt, screamed until several of us were hoarse, and our presence made the show better...because it honestly could not have been worse. Coming up: Day 2 and my hunt for the Year of The James piece...