DCC: Day 2

Denver Comic Con:  Day 2

What a long day it was.

Day 2 of DCC was everything I expected it to be.  Crowded.  While the numbers didn't match CCI by a long shot, the density did, but it in no way prevented me from having just as much fun.  On the contrary, because of the reduced numbers, I knew I wouldn't have to wait as long for panels which meant more time to explore.

Cosplay:
Once again, the costumes came out and, for better or worse, at least these folks had the cojones to try.  There were some pretty amazing creations.  I saw a Gambit I wanted to molest, but he cruised through the crowd too quickly to snap a pic.  Still, I captured as many as I could with my subpar camera.  I'm hoping my friend Tony, with his super pro digital SLR will be willing to share.  For the day (and what I captured), I think the girl who rocked Miss Martian Manhunter was by far my favorite. While her costume wan't the most intricate, she embraced the whole character.

You can check out all of my DCC cosplay photos on my DCC 2012 Facebook album.

Artists and Exhibits:
I spent most of Day 2 going through Artist Alley and the Independent webcomics area.  While the merch is cool, I love to meet the people who are putting their blood, sweat and tears into their work.  These guys are the most fun to talk to.  Their portfolios are phenomenal, and I can't understand why some of them haven't been picked up by some major labels.  Remember, I've seen some pretty crappy art in my comic reviews.  Ugh.  They work for pennies and everyone is willing to do work on commission.  It's pretty amazing of them.

The other place that I'm so excited about is the DEAD Academy.  This local school is all about helping artists and budding artists learn more about comics, writing, drawing, film and fx.  They offer classes and workshops to help anyone learn more about some of their amazing crafts.  I'm definitely going to explore this more and it makes me feel good that I'm helping to support local.  Where in middle-America do you find something like this?

Panels:
I like the smaller panels like the ones at this con, because it gives you a chance to learn about just one of the people, the main focus, and your hour isn't split among several people.  I was also impressed that the "crowd questions" were far more interesting and complex than some at CCI.  People here actually listened and changed their question if it had already been asked.  Kudos, Denver.

James Marsters - Ah, Spike.  What else can you say about James Marsters, but he grows on you.  He was able to take that badboy vampire that you love to hate and turn him into a character that you loved to love.  Even since, with his roles on Smallville and Torchwood, that smile just can't be beat. And for those of you that missed it, he was sporting quite the package in his tight black jeans. Wat that a stake in his pocket or...?

The best Marsters story of the panel revolved around his "gay kiss" in Torchwood.  It seems that his fiancé found it super sexy, his director found it entertaining enough to do about 20 takes and he learned one thing about kissing men: make sure you've shaved very closely.  What an awesome sport.  It's cool to see that actors can embrace the role, no matter their own orientation and simply realize, they are representing the human experience.  Period.  Another reason to love him.

Kristen Bauer - This woman is hilarious.  Whoever thought she couldn't play the hard, edgy, yet sexy female was way wrong.  I'm glad Alan Bell and HBO gave her the chance.

Bauer was able to talk a lot about her role as Pam and what she's enjoyed most about working on True Blood.  It's amazing to learn how HBO extends the filming of this show to really give it the attention and quality it deserves.  We learned a lot about filming "vamp speed" and that this season we will learn about Pam and her back-story as we have learned so much about the others.  I'm super excited to know more.  Pam has always intrigued me.

The funniest story from her panel was in working with Eric trying to perfect languages and pronunciation in Swedish and Russian.  Since Alex made such a fool of her not being able to distinguish between a Swedish and Danish word, she somehow managed to get him to memorize "I want to fuck you in the ass" in Russian as one of his lines. Really?  WHo wouldn't want to work with these people?

Best moment of the day:
At an artist's booth, I turn around to see Aaron Douglas (Tyrol from BSG) standing next to me looking at the guy's work.  The artist says to Douglas, "Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a character on BSG?" to which Douglas replied, "Yah I hear that a lot.  I think he's taller though, and better looking."  This exchange went back and forth with other people trying to convince the artist it was actually the actor.  It ended in a fun photo op and laughter, but the exchange was unforgettable.

Have an awesome Sunday, Denver Pride and Father's Day.  I'm off to catch Day 3 and some of the Pride festivities downtown.  Hope to see you there!