Just call me Sheldonya East

 

I’m all about San Diego Comic-Con this week. From a distance, yes, but I’m there in spirit. I’ve had to live the San Diego Comic-Con experience remotely via Facebook and my dear friend Andrea’s terrific pictures. Sigh. I have loved Comic-Con for so many years. I started attending it way back in the 80’s. I know this because I still have the badge (no bar codes on them then). I went with the aforementioned Andrea, and never stopped. Around about ’97, I entered the Comic Con-with-Kids years. Fantastic when my pre-pubescent nephew announced “I’ve got so much stuff, my back hurts, and I haven’t spent a penny!”  Over-the-top, taking my little niece to her first formal drawing lesson with none other than Spy vs. Spy creator Sergio Aragonés. In the day, even in the '90’s, you could just buy a ticket at the door (can you imagine?!?!?) and walk on in. You could also get autographs and pictures of Famous People, for free, with barely a line to be found. I’m not getting all nostalgic here, just saying. That was then and the Con got bigger, better, even more amazing to this crowd-avoiding, sometimes reclusive, astigmatic 3-D artist. Over the years, I absorbed so much inspiration from so many artists at San Diego Comic -Con, that last year I implemented my own give-back plan: I made a boatload of original fused-glass art swag and Gave. It. Away.  For. Free.

Well, I’m a mid-westerner now; time to meld old traditions with new ones.  To that end, I am getting in the groove of C-town’s Con in just 3 short weeks. I have begun making my list of all personal pop culture things C-con related:

• Alter never-yet-worn tee shirts from last year’s C-C in San Diego so that I look really WOW at this year’s in Chicago
• Break in my brand new, way-cool C-Con shoes that Don gave me
• Buy and learn to use, an iPad mini like the one Jennifer took to Italy last March because Chris was right and it really isn’t gonna get any better for another decade
• Make more original art swag to give away—Corkbots this year
• Strategize how I’m going to get into the Firefly panel, which oh-by-the-way; I was shut out of last year after standing in line for nearly 2 freakin’ hours with a brutally sore hip

But wait! About that last?? In Chicago, you can still buy tickets at the door!!! You don’t have to stand in line to get a ticket to stand in another line to get a tee shirt!!!! You can park nearby and even get a local hotel room at the Radisson suites without it costing you 3-month’s pay!!!!!

I love you C-town!!!! You and me? Next month? We gonna ROCK THE CON!!

TTFN,

Renée