Back from Chicagoland, so hail the conquering hero! We had a phenomenal convention. Kez Wilson and his son Zach were there, and Kez shared some of my table space for the sale of comics that he worked on in the past, and for doing collectors cards by request. He did several full "Herculoids" sets for people, as well as some other fan faves (like Princess Aura from the Filmation "Flash Gordon" series.)
We had a lot of new designs, some of which are pictured above, behind my own self. (Thanks to Jeff Bean Green of the Kaiju Brothers for the picture.)
G-Fest is an odd convention. It is eminently family-friendly, and the dealer community is close-knit, all friendly, even if they are selling the same type of merchandise. I go to scads of anime conventions, and there is not the same camaraderie. Many times the anime cons are frenetic, with people almost desperately trying to have fun, to Do It All. Not so G-Fest, where it all seems a bit more laid back and comfortable. G-Fest is more like summer camp, just without Kum Ba Yah. I am happy that this convention has introduced me not only to all the neat people I have met, but also the neat movies I have seen. I was never a giant-monster fan as a kid (tho' probably from lack of exposure), but I am making up for it now. Is the genre cheesy? Certainly! Is it High Art? Nope. Is it all good fun? Oh my, yes!
Saturday night after the dealer room closed, Kez and I grabbed supper, then adjourned to my digs to see what kaiju offerings the con had running on the hotel channel. Lo, there was "The Green Slime", an absolute horror of a movie that we proceeded to MST3K with all our might! Hilarity ensued. Then, an oddball kaiju movie, "Daigoro vs. Goliath", about an overweight young monster being cared for by the government, but sadly, the funding has been cut, and so have his rations...until a space monster rears its ugly horned head. It is precisely as good as it sounds.
I must finish "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe" now.
We had a lot of new designs, some of which are pictured above, behind my own self. (Thanks to Jeff Bean Green of the Kaiju Brothers for the picture.)
G-Fest is an odd convention. It is eminently family-friendly, and the dealer community is close-knit, all friendly, even if they are selling the same type of merchandise. I go to scads of anime conventions, and there is not the same camaraderie. Many times the anime cons are frenetic, with people almost desperately trying to have fun, to Do It All. Not so G-Fest, where it all seems a bit more laid back and comfortable. G-Fest is more like summer camp, just without Kum Ba Yah. I am happy that this convention has introduced me not only to all the neat people I have met, but also the neat movies I have seen. I was never a giant-monster fan as a kid (tho' probably from lack of exposure), but I am making up for it now. Is the genre cheesy? Certainly! Is it High Art? Nope. Is it all good fun? Oh my, yes!
Saturday night after the dealer room closed, Kez and I grabbed supper, then adjourned to my digs to see what kaiju offerings the con had running on the hotel channel. Lo, there was "The Green Slime", an absolute horror of a movie that we proceeded to MST3K with all our might! Hilarity ensued. Then, an oddball kaiju movie, "Daigoro vs. Goliath", about an overweight young monster being cared for by the government, but sadly, the funding has been cut, and so have his rations...until a space monster rears its ugly horned head. It is precisely as good as it sounds.
I must finish "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe" now.
6 comments:
The ONLY reason I have to watch "The Green Slime" is to feed my appetite for character actors by seeing Richard Jaeckel in action.
If anyone comes out with an audio collection of "Ten Worst Film Theme Songs", then "Green Slime" easily qualifies.
I am through with giant monster movies, but not without having enjoyed the heck out of them while growing up. Actually it pleases me that you are enjoying them now. Some sort of nostalgic transference or something.
It sounds like a good trip, all around. Mixing business with pleasure, from time to time, just seems the thing to do to my mind.
You also picked up on a theme which I plan to avoid at an upcoming event. When I go to Burning Man, I am NOT going to be one of those people who has to go, see, be seen, and do everything. I have a few things, so far, I hope to enjoy. I further hope to flesh that out just a bit, but just have fun while there generally, and do a thing or two more deeply, and a little random sightseeing. I just don't rush unless I have no choice. That then becomes business without pleasure. Which is fine in it's place and time.
You do look happy and hale.
"You do look happy and hale"
Oh, Doom, you DO go on so!
Enjoy Burning Man!
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Michael-The EYE-talian theme to one of HBO's "Space:1999" movies is a candidate.
@Doom --- Oh, giant monster movies can still be thoroughly enjoyed the way fine vintages are. There's the classic kaiju of Japanese features, such as Godzilla and Mothra, the American "monster cycle" of the 1950's that brought us "Tarantula", "Them", "The Black Scorpion" and others, the British efforts like "Gorgo" and "The Giant Behemoth", and more recent films such as "Cloverfield". I've never stopped loving such movies and I'll always be watching them.
@Weatherly --- Haven't heard the Italian "Space 1999" theme, and not certain I really want to (Italian SF film music has perhaps the worst track record in the world).
On the other hand, the Italian theme for "Lupin III" ("Incorrigible Lupin") isn't too bad.
Speaking of foreign themes: the Japanese opening and music to "Terrahawks" is interesting.
Bill would probably like that tiki shirt!
I'll let him know.
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